The Tarrant County Public Health Department confirms 1,269 new cases of COVID-19 Monday along with another 22 new deaths, sending the county over the grim milestone of 1,000 lives lost during the pandemic.
The latest victims of the virus included a woman from Keller in her 90s, a woman from Fort Worth in her 90s, a man and woman from Sansom Park in their 80s, a woman from Arlington in her 80s, a woman from North Richland Hills in her 80s, a woman from Saginaw in her 80s, two women from Fort Worth in their 80s, two men from Euless in their 70s, two men from Fort Worth in their 70s, two men from unincorporated Tarrant County in their 70s, five men from Fort Worth in their 60s, a man from Mansfield in his 60s, and a man from Hurst in his 50s. All but five had underlying health conditions.
In the last seven days, the county has announced 9,034 new cases of the virus. Of the 1,269 additional cases reported Monday, data from the county health department indicates there are 1,183 more confirmed cases than the most recent report and 86 more probable cases.
Tarrant County, which extended its mask mandate until Feb. 28, 2021, last month, began reporting both probable and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in August at the request of the state health department. Probable cases, the county said, account for a variety of real-world situations and could highlight cases in the community that may otherwise go unreported. To date, the county has reported 106,691 confirmed cases of the virus and 14,208 probable cases for a total of 120,899 cases.
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The county is also reporting another 779 estimated recoveries, bringing the total number of survivors to 87,921. There are currently an estimated 31,964 active cases in the county, the most of any North Texas county.
Of the county's cases, 71% of those who have died were over the age of 65 even though they only make up 10% of the cases. Those aged 25 to 44 make up the largest percentage of people with COVID-19 at 36%.
The health department reports 958 COVID-19 patients are currently occupying hospital beds in the county on Monday, an increase of nearly 83 patients compared to a week ago that accounts for about 20% of capacity; Tarrant County hospitals are operating at 77% total capacity Monday. TCPH data shows 331 of 739 available ventilators in use, it's not clear how many are in use by COVID-19 patients.
With 1,014 deaths now attributed to the virus, COVID-19 is now projected to be the third-leading killer of Tarrant County residents behind cancer and heart disease and is expected to surpass the annual total for stroke later this year.
COVID-19 causes a respiratory illness with cough, fever and shortness of breath and may lead to bronchitis, severe pneumonia or even death. For more information go to coronavirus.tarrantcounty.com or call the Tarrant County Public Health information line, 817-248-6299, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
