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.

DPS trooper working at Texas Capitol tests positive for COVID-19

A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who had been working at the Texas Capitol tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Rep. Charlie Geren, a Republican from Fort Worth and chair of the House Administration Committee, confirmed Monday night. Quorum Report had first reported about the case Monday.

Geren said the trooper received test results on Saturday, and that they had not been inside the building since early last week. People who had interacted with the trooper have been notified and sent home to self-quarantine. Areas where the trooper worked have been disinfected, Geren said.

Rural Texas counties have reopened from COVID more quickly. They’ve also tested less.

When Archer County Judge Randy Jackson got the call about two weeks ago from the state offering a pop-up mobile testing site, he turned it down.

As metro areas across Texas report hundreds of new cases of the novel coronavirus daily, Archer County just received its first confirmed case Friday. With a population of roughly 8,500 near the Texas-Oklahoma border, the county has developed its own system, screening residents for symptoms, and sending them north to Wichita Falls or south to Olney to be tested, Jackson said.

“We’re spread out more and we don’t have the industry like bigger urban areas do, so we kind of had to initiate our own protocol,” Jackson said. “We’re taking care of ourselves.”

Archer County is one of more than 100 Texas counties that have five or fewer active COVID-19 cases and have been approved by the Texas Department of State Health Services to reopen their businesses at 50% capacity as a result — while the remaining counties are restricted to 25% capacity.

The greater capacity was a facet of Gov. Greg Abbott’s phased approach to reopening Texas businesses he announced last month. There is criteria in place to bring that increased capacity down to 25% if a county surpasses certain thresholds, including more than three positive cases per 1,000 residents. But for many of the North Texas counties permitted to reopen at double the capacity, fewer cases have been coupled with far less testing.

Their populations are a small fraction of Tarrant County’s more than 2 million residents — with some surrounding counties with as few as 9,000 people. But state data shows many have conducted far fewer tests per capita than some of the region’s more populous counties.

Dallas-Fort Worth gyms plan to reopen Monday with new rules amid coronavirus

Robin Thomas walked by all of the cardio and weights equipment sitting out in his empty gym on Saturday, putting yellow tape onto roughly every other machine so members who come back will have to keep at least 6 feet of distance.

His facility, Inursha Fitness, which he opened with his wife in Fort Worth 18 years ago, has always been a small local operation compared to the larger national fitness clubs. But, when it opens its doors on Monday for the first time in about two months, it’s going to become a lot smaller.

After Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas gyms could reopen on May 18 at 25 percent capacity, Thomas said he and his wife immediately began making their plans to reopen. Since their gym mainly serves clients who schedule one-on-one appointments with personal trainers, they plan to carefully manage how many people are in the gym at a time. Trainers have been instructed to keep social distance during sessions.

Per Abbott’s requirements, everyone inside the facility also has to wear gloves, machines must be sanitized after each use, and locker rooms and showers must be closed.

Inursha is taking additional steps to make going to the gym a safer activity, as are other gyms throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth region reopening on Monday who want to reassure members who could be wary of coming back.

That includes having a cleaning company thoroughly disinfect everything in the gym three days a week, Thomas said. He and his wife also purchased a device that automatically sprays a disinfectant into the air at regular intervals, which helps to keep machines clean.

“It’s going to be difficult, honestly, to keep everyone happy, because there’s going to be the segment of people who are like, ‘Let’s get back to total norm,’ and then there’s going to be a segment of people who are ... very vigilant about everything going on,” Thomas told the Star-Telegram on Saturday. “So you’re going to have those two segments of people you’re going to have to deal with.”

Inursha is one of several gyms, including local businesses and national chains, reopening in the Dallas-Fort Worth region on what will be their first day of business since local leaders and Abbott began enforcing stay-at-home orders in late March.

Tarrant County reports 97 coronavirus cases, 2 deaths ahead of Texas gym reopenings

Tarrant County confirmed 97 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths Sunday, a day before more businesses like gyms and nonessential manufacturers are slated to open as a part of Texas’ gradual reopening plan.

A woman in her 80s from Keller and a man in his 70s from Fort Worth died. Both had underlying health conditions.

This brings the total number of cases to 4,447 in Tarrant County and the total number of deaths to 123. The county has reported 1,470 recoveries from the virus, but its website says not all recoveries are reported. Recoveries and deaths are included in the total number of cases.

Keller saw an increase of 14 cases between Saturday and Sunday.

In Tarrant County, men have have made up 58% of the coronavirus cases and 61% of deaths, according to data from the county.

Dallas County reports 205 new coronavirus cases, 6 more deaths

Dallas County reported 205 new coronavirus cases and six additional deaths on Sunday.

The six deaths were an Irving man in his 30s, a Richardson man in his 70s, a man in his 90s from a long-term care facility in Mesquite, and three people – a man in his 80s and two men in their 90s – from long-term care facilities in Dallas.

Sunday’s numbers bring the county’s total to 7,455 cases and 176 deaths from the coronavirus.

“Our last three days of positive cases have been lower than in the previous 10 days and that is a good sign,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted. “Increasingly it is up to all of you to determine the trajectory of where we go in this COVID-19 pandemic.”

COVID-19 cases over time

Coronavirus daily case counts over time by local counties in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex. Tap the arrow button to replay the animation. Data provided by Texas Health and Human Services and local counties.

Steve Wilson swilson@star-telegram.com

Fort Worth-area high schools plan alternate graduation dates amid coronavirus shutdown

For the past month, local school districts have been making alternate arrangements for upcoming high school graduations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Traditional ceremonies are out as large gatherings do not adhere to social distancing mandates that virtually all level of government continue to promote.

Most local school districts have come up with new dates and venues, which include Globe Life Field, the new home of the Texas Rangers, AT&T Stadium, Texas Motor Speedway and the Coyote Drive-In on Panther Island. Here is the latest information on upcoming high school graduations.

Natural, identical quadruplets born in Dallas

In an event that occurs in one in 11 million births, natural, identical quadruplets were born in March at a Dallas hospital. Last week, the last of the babies was discharged.

Hudson, Harrison, Henry and Hardy Marr arrived on March 15 at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

In a statement that the hospital released on Friday, the quadruplets’ mother said she was not worried during her pregnancy about the challenge ahead.

“I knew that if God was going to give us this gift that we were going to be fine,” Jenny Marr said. “I just knew that we were going to be healthy and that everything was just going to be alright.”

Jenny and Chris Marr are both 35 and live in Dallas. They are only children and have no history of multiples in their family, the hospital said.

“This situation is so incredibly rare that there are only about 72 documented cases of spontaneous, identical quadruplets ever,” Dr. Lauren Murray, a Texas Health Dallas obstetrician-gynecologist, said in the statement.

A no-visitor policy at the hospital began on March 23 because of efforts to tame the spread of the novel coronavirus. Only Chris and Jenny were permitted to visit their children in the NICU.

This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 5:00 AM.