We’re keeping track of the most up-to-date news about the coronavirus in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Check back for updates.

Tarrant County reports four more coronavirus deaths, bringing total to 25

Tarrant County confirmed four more coronavirus deaths Saturday, bringing the total number of residents who have died due to the virus to 25.

Three Fort Worth residents died, including a woman in her late 40s, a man in his 60s and a man in his 70s, officials said. A Sansom Park man in his 80s also died.

All of them reportedly had underlying health conditions.

There have been 90 recoveries, officials said Saturday.

As of Saturday, there were 787 confirmed cases across Tarrant County, an increase of 82 cases from Friday’s report, according to the county Department of Health website.

Dallas County reports 107 new coronavirus cases, 2 deaths

Dallas County reported an additional 107 coronavirus cases and two deaths on Saturday.

There have now been 1,644 coronavirus cases across the county and 27 deaths as of Saturday, officials said.

The two individuals who died from COVID-19 included a Garland man in his 60s and a Grand Prairie man in his 70s, according to a news release from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. Both had underlying health conditions.

Of cases in the county requiring hospitalization, 69 percent have involved residents who are either over the age of 60 or have had at least one known high-risk chronic health condition, according to the release. About one-third of all hospitalized COVID-19 patients have had diabetes.

Jenkins looked ahead to Easter in the news release, noting it will be different this year “but need not be less special.”

“Just as Americans overcame the measles epidemic of 1918 and WWII, we will come through this and will emerge stronger together,” he said.

3 Denton nursing-facility residents die of coronavirus-related causes

The novel coronavirus-related deaths of three elderly Denton nursing-facility residents and 20 new cases of the virus were announced on Saturday by county health authorities.

A woman and man over 80 and a woman in her 60s who lived at the Denton Rehabilitation Center died, the Denton County Public Health office said.

They are among 13 people who have died in the county of causes related to the virus.

“The loss of these three lives is almost beyond words as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in our county,” Denton County Judge Andy Eads wrote in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with each of their families as they cope with the deaths of their loved ones.”

Public health authorities have worked with the facility on North Carroll Boulevard since the first coronavirus cases among residents and one employee were identified, the county said.

The first residents with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases were taken to a hospital when they showed symptoms, the county said. The employee is under self-isolation at his or her residence.

Denton County has had a total of 474 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday.

Collin County reports 16 additional cases

Collin County reported 16 more confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, for a total of 441.

As of Saturday, 226 of those patients had recovered and seven had died, according to county health officials.

Twenty-six patients remained hospitalized and 182 in home isolation.

Fort Worth-area Open Door Church handing out 65 tons of fresh food for Easter

Open Door Church in Burleson has been giving out food every Sunday for 25 years. This Easter Sunday won’t be any different.

The church will be handing out 65 tons of fresh food, volunteers decked out in gloves and masks, to combat the spread of coronavirus and putting food in the cars of anybody who needs it.

The global outbreak of coronavirus has led to economic troubles for many Americans, and Open Door Church spokeswoman Kyp Shillam said that just adds necessity to the church’s mission.

The church, 301 S. Dobson St., has enough food ready for 2,000 people, including fresh meat, vegetables, dairy and other produce. Some of the food will be canned, but Shillam said the focus is on fresh foods.

Churches, synagogues celebrate holy days in new ways due to coronavirus

Greater Saint Stephen First Church is for the first time in its history going to be offering Easter morning communion in the form of a drive-thru.

Families will be invited to wait in a line of cars on Sunday morning in the church parking lot, according to the Rev. Michael Bell. Three parishioners in plastic gloves and face masks will stand on the opposite side of a long table, setting down sealed bags of wafers and cups of grape juice. Passengers in cars can then take communion as the volunteers recite the traditional prayer.

There will be bins at the end where people can discard trash. “Just like when you go through McDonald’s,” Bell said.

Inside of the sanctuary, he will be leading a traditional Sunday service to empty pews and a few other people like his son, who will operate the camera sending a livestream onto Facebook.

The church, which serves around 500 African-American residents on the east side of Fort Worth, had only done traditional services until coronavirus stay-at-home orders came down about three weeks ago. Church leadership, wanting to reach the community during a time of fear and uncertainty, took the almost 40-year-old institution in a new direction by providing virtual services.

Bell plans to spend his Easter morning sermon talking about what it takes to power through challenging times, as the church has been doing.

“How do we meet and overcome those?” the pastor said over the phone on Thursday. “My message is going to be to encourage them to stay home, to not get caught up in all of the panic...do something constructive in the midst of all of this. What is it that you’ve been trying to work on — that you’ve been wanting to work on and never got around to doing — that you can do right now?”

Places of worship across the Dallas-Fort Worth region have been finding new ways to meet their members without the ability to gather as one due to COVID-19. And this week, institutions are marking major holidays in unprecedented ways that allow members to connect from a distance.

Churches are live-streaming Easter services produced by only videographers, a couple of musicians and a pastor or a priest. Synagogues are also live-streaming worship services during the seven-day Passover, which started Wednesday evening, as well as encouraging families with out-of-town family members to do virtual Seders.

Rabbi Andrew Bloom of Fort Worth’s Congregation Ahavath Sholom pre-recorded his Thursday evening holiday service on Monday so he could host a Seder with loved ones. He and his wife were planning to sit down at the table with their two daughters, joined by their son who lives in Virginia and two other families on the Zoom app.

Fort Worth-area city organizes an Easter egg hunt, but it’s virtual

Kids won’t have to forego hunting for Easter eggs because of COVID-19, but they won’t find the eggs outside.

Cleburne Mayor Scott Cain posted on his Facebook page that the city wanted children and their families to have fun while practicing social distancing on Easter.

“A lot of cities are closing parks on Sunday. We wanted to find an alternative since people often go to parks to hunt eggs. Since everything is virtual at this time, why not do a virtual egg hunt?” he said.

The fun starts at 3 p.m. when families can visit the city’s Facebook page. Every six minutes photos and clues will be posted on where to find the eggs. The clues are about local businesses. The first two people to find each egg or prize gets a $25 gift card to a particular business.

Most of the businesses participating have been designated nonessential, and some sell their products online while others will open once the stay-at-home order is lifted.

Bud Kennedy: ‘Dr. Microbe’ is the TV medical expert Texas needs right now. And in two languages

The best new TV medical expert is right here at our health science center.

She goes by “Dr. Microbe.” And she talks coronavirus in both English and Spanish.

In a month when TV news was dominated by government talking heads, some of the best moments have come from an Arlington scientist and director of the epidemiology program at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

Diana Cervantes knows her viruses. And she’s taken questions everywhere from Telemundo to KTCK/96.7 FM “The Ticket.”

“I was trained by old-school guys — they taught me that part of this job of fighting disease is getting the word out,” she said Friday as Texans settled in for another weekend at home.

This story was originally published April 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.