On Friday, Texas set another new high with 14,916 COVID-19 cases along with 174 deaths.
Friday's record high numbers were the third-straight day Texas has reported new highs in deaths, and Friday's numbers also showed an all-time high positivity rate for COVID-19 tests across the state at 17.43%.
Hospitalizations also jumped up to an all-time high of 10,632 after two days of declines.
The jump in cases, from 10,291 reported Thursday to today's count of 14,916, includes a laboratory reporting backlog of approximately 5,500 cases reported by the San Antonio Metro Health District, according to the Texas Department of Health Services.
In a tweet, San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg explained the backlog of 4,810 cases as "complications with upgrading some of our local tech," which he said is now fixed.
Even without the San Antonio backlog, however, the new highs of deaths, hospitalizations, and positivity rate in Texas were signs of the times for a week where multiple record highs were set then broken.
Texas News
News from around the state of Texas.
The state added 67,461 new cases in the last seven days for an average of 9,637 cases a day. The seven-day average for deaths was 93 a day on Thursday, before Friday's record high of 174 cases.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said this week was Dallas's deadliest week for the virus after reporting 13 more COVID-19 related deaths and an additional 1,195 cases Friday.
In preparation of an increase of deaths from COVID-19, Texas officials and funeral home directors are ordering extra body bags and refrigerated trucks.
A document prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force placed 123 Texas counties, including Dallas and Tarrant County, in a COVID-19 "red zone" and suggested that more stringent safety measures should be taken to slow the spread of the virus on Friday.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
