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.

Texas reports single-day high in new coronavirus cases as statewide deaths near 1,900

Texas reported a single-day high of 2,504 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, dwarfing the previous high by 555 cases.

The previous high was 1,949 cases on May 31.

Texas also reported 32 COVID-19 deaths after reporting six and 17 the previous two days. It’s the most reported since 33 on June 4. The single-day high for pandemic-related deaths in Texas is 58 on May 14.

The state has had 79,757 coronavirus cases, including 1,885 deaths. It has 25,423 active cases, according to data compiled by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Gov. Greg Abbott told KDFW/Ch. 4 in Dallas on Wednesday night that although the increase in cases is concerning, it’s also to be expected as testing increases, as people relax social distancing guidelines and in the wake of recent gatherings spurred by Memorial Day weekend and protests over the death George Floyd.

“COVID-19 has not left. We still need to be safe in the way that we interact with others,” Abbott said.

Texas sees record number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 for third day in a row

Hospitalizations of patients infected with the novel coronavirus have hit a record high in Texas for the third day in a row.

Wednesday, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported 2,153 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 — an increase of 97 patients from Tuesday when 2,056 were hospitalized and 218 more than the 1,935 people hospitalized on Monday.

Hospitalizations have been on an upward trend since late May, and have increased by nearly 42.5% since the 1,511 patients hospitalized on Memorial Day. Before Monday, the previous record for hospitalizations was on May 5 when 1,888 patients were hospitalized.

As the state reopens and businesses increase the number of customers allowed in person, Gov. Greg Abbott has stressed that hospitalizations and the rate of positive cases are some of the key metrics he is assessing.

John Wittman, a spokesman for Abbott, wrote in email Wednesday that “every Texan who needs access to a hospital bed will have access to a hospital bed.”

The state has 13,645 available beds, 1,508 intensive care unit beds and 5,934 ventilators available, and Wittman noted the state has “the ability to surge capacity in regions across the state if necessary.”

In summer of coronavirus, Fort Worth drive-in movie theater becomes one of few escapes

Before the sun set over Fort Worth and the lights from the projectors flickered on, Crystal and Ryan Kirby backed their pickup into a spot close to screen number 1, the truck bed transformed into front-row seats.

They had packed an inflated air mattress and enough pillows and blankets to cradle them and their niece and nephew. Crystal and Ryan are reading the Harry Potter books to the kids, who are living with them this summer, so they wanted to bring them to see the 2002 adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” on the big screen.

And since they hadn’t “really been anywhere” for a while as a coronavirus precaution, they wanted to get everyone out of the home in a way that felt safe, Ryan said.

The staff of Coyote Drive-In in downtown Fort Worth had instructed them on a recent Wednesday night to park between any of the numbered signs spread out in the gravel parking lot. Due to Gov. Greg Abbott’s mandate that businesses limit capacity, drive-in staff planted hundreds of signs in every other space to enforce the rule and maintain social distance. Patrons are asked to stay inside their vehicles or sit in front of them.

The Kirbys felt as if they were in their own private theater, their radio turned to 107.3 to play the audio of the movie. But it was never lost on them they were enjoying a movie with a crowd once again.

“We’re in our own car — we’re not around a bunch of people and we’re confined to our comfortable space here,” Crystal said, seated in the truck bed. “It makes it less stressful, but also exciting.”

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

Coronavirus deaths continue to rise in Tarrant County, including 24 so far in June

Tarrant County reported five more coronavirus deaths and 166 new cases on Wednesday.

The county has reported 11 COVID-19 deaths in the past two days and 29 deaths since May 30, including 24 so far in June.

The latest include an Arlington man in his 80s, a Benbrook man in his 80s and three Fort Worth residents — a man in his 50s and two men in their 60s.

All five had underlying health conditions, according to officials.

County health officials said the recent increase in new pandemic cases, including 219 on Monday, is partially because of a lab reporting issue that delayed some test results.

Texas has reported three consecutive days of record hospitalizations for coronavirus. Tarrant County had 216 hospital beds occupied by known COVID-19 patients as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the county’s online data. Out of 5,846 hospital beds, 1,966 were unoccupied. And 436 out of 624 ventilators were available.

Tarrant County has confirmed a total of 6,599 COVID-19 cases, including 189 deaths and at least 2,897 recoveries.

Of the 189 deaths, there have been 114 in Fort Worth, 23 in Arlington and seven in Benbrook.

Dallas County reports record COVID-19 cases; hospitalization spike concerns officials

Dallas County reported a new single-day high of 300 coronavirus cases, and three more deaths on Wednesday.

It’s the fifth time in the past week the county has reported a new record as COVID-19 cases continue to spike. The county has reported 200 or more cases every day for the past two weeks.

The county reported three coronavirus deaths Wednesday, including a Dallas woman in her 40s, a DeSoto man in his 70s, and a Garland woman in her 80s who died at a long-term care facility. The Garland woman did not have underlying health conditions.

Dallas County has confirmed a total of 12,945 COVID-19 cases, including 274 deaths. The county is seeing an increase in new cases, in part, because of a wider testing capacity, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a news release. More than a third of the coronavirus deaths in the county have been residents of long-term care facilities.

North Texas has seen an increase of 100 coronavirus patient hospitalizations over the past two days, according to Dallas County data.

“Unfortunately, yesterday we saw an increase of 80 more hospitalizations across the DFW Metroplex than the day before and today that increase continued with 20 more hospitalizations. In Dallas County, we’ve gone from 321 hospitalizations for COVID-19 two days ago to 372 hospitalizations [Wednesday],” Jenkins said. “The numbers are concerning to the Public Health Committee and we’ll continue to watch them closely.”

Are you putting on and wearing a face mask correctly? Here’s what you need to know.

Hopefully you are wearing a face covering when you go out in public as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the country and cases are spiking again in Texas.

By now you have probably learned that your face mask needs to cover not only your mouth but also your nose to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

But are you sure you’re putting on your mask and wearing it correctly? A health-care worker with Parkland Hospital in Dallas showed how to properly put on a basic disposable N95 medical grade respirator mask. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins posted video of the tutorial on social media.

It’s not complicated, of course, but here are the main points, no matter the specific kind of mask you’re wearing.

Make sure to have the blue (or non-white) side facing out. After placing it on your face, pinch the mask over the bridge of your nose and pull down the bottom half of the mask under your chin. Make sure you leave no gaps on the side of your face and neck.

Latinos’ risk of getting COVID doubles in states with meat processing plant outbreaks

The ashes of Hugo Dominguez arrived at his childhood home in Veracruz, Mexico, three weeks after he died from COVID-19 in a Dallas hospital.

“He’d always talk about us going back to his home and retiring,” said his common-law wife, Blanca Parra, who has two children with Dominguez. “I knew that’s where he wanted to be, with his parents, who didn’t get to say goodbye.”

Dominguez, 36, had been living in the country illegally for 16 years. For the past five years he’d worked at Quality Sausage Co., a meat processing plant in west Dallas, where at least three workers, including Dominguez, have died of COVID-19.

Immigrants and refugees are being disproportionately affected by the coronavirus, especially in states where meat processing plants have reported outbreaks, according to a recent study. As of June 9, at least 92 meatpacking plant workers have died in the U.S. Activists say up to 80% of workers at these plants are undocumented.

Nearly 1,200 Mexican nationals have died from COVID-19 in the United States., according to data obtained by the Star-Telegram from Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Office. New York leads in fatalities with 706, followed by Illinois with 112 and California with 120.

Denton County reports 4th coronavirus death in past 6 days; 40 new cases

Denton County reported a coronavirus-related death for the third consecutive day on Wednesday.

The death, of a Dallas man in his 60s, was the fourth in the past six days. Denton County health officials do not report whether a patient had underlying health conditions.

“As we announce the third COVID-19 death in three days, we ask for your thoughts and prayers for this individual’s friends and family,” Denton County Judge Andy Eads said in a release. “Utilizing masks, physically distancing, and washing your hands are still highly recommended to protect our community members and slow the spread of COVID-19.”

Denton County also reported 40 new COVID-19 cases, the most since 45 were reported on May 20. The county reported 35 on Tuesday.

The county has confirmed 1,599 COVID-19 cases, including 36 deaths and 796 recoveries.

Denton County Public Health is providing a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing center in Carrollton from 8 to noon Friday at Creekview High School, 3201 Old Denton Road.

To be eligible for testing, residents must have COVID-19 symptoms or have been symptomatic within the past week. Essential employees and people who have had contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 are also eligible for testing.

You must register for the test by calling 940-349-2585.

Kendra Scott jewelry donates more than $27,000 to Fort Worth hospital for COVID relief

Jewelry company Kendra Scott recently donated more than $27,000 to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth and it celebrated that donation Wednesday with a formal check presentation at the hospital’s Downtown Fort Worth campus.

Kendra Scott pledged to donate 20% of its proceeds from curbside orders placed between April 24 and May 10 to aid local Texas hospitals with their COVID-19 relief efforts. The sales generated more than $390,000 in charitable contributions for hospitals statewide, according to a news release.

The $27,861.54 was generated based on curbside purchases in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“One of our core pillars is philanthropy, so we’ll always give back especially to health care workers, frontline workers and these hospitals,” said Ashley Zorn, philanthropy manager at Kendra Scott. “This company loves to give back and it was able to raise funds during a difficult time like this COVID-19 pandemic.”

The company selects hospitals that have set up a COVID-19 relief fund to receive these donations.

From no fans to honoring George Floyd, the PGA Tour’s new ‘normal’ starts at Colonial

Rory McIlroy is ready for golf’s return even if the new “normal” isn’t exactly normal.

There will be no grandstands or fans when the PGA Tour resumes its season with the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club this week. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the tour to close its doors to the general public.

And the country is in the midst of a movement for social and racial equality. The killing of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody last month, remains at the forefront of conversations and protests coast to coast.

All of it has made for an unprecedented time for golf to return. But McIlroy and the rest of golf’s stars are eager to return and bring live sports back to a general public that has been craving it for months.

“It’ll be a little eerie that you’re not getting claps and you’re not getting feedback from good shots and stuff like that,” said McIlroy, who will be making his Colonial debut. “At the same time, it’s what we have to do, right? It’s what we’re going to have to live with for the foreseeable future, and if that’s what I have to adapt to to be able to get out here and play on tour and get back to work essentially, then I’m happy to do that.”

As far as Floyd and raising awareness on racial injustices, McIlroy is pleased to see the PGA Tour planning to observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. every day this week. A police officer knelt on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes, 46 seconds before he died.

Major League Soccer, not baseball, to be first pro league back as MLB keeps fighting

Judging by the back-and-forth between owners and players, the following likely isn’t rock bottom in the process of attempting to stage a 2020 MLB season, though maybe it should be:

Major League Soccer has an agreement with its players and will open the season July 8.

Soccer, a sport that remains an acquired taste for many sports fans in the United States, has beaten baseball to the punch in two ways: The MLS is the third professional sports league to announce its plan to return amid the coronavirus pandemic, joining the NHL and NBA, and it will be the first one to hold competitive play.

Baseball had that chance, originally calling for a realistic and symbolic return on the Fourth of July weekend. Thrusting baseball back into the hot-dogs-and-apple-pie equation for an eager, sports-starved audience was perfect.

Too perfect, as it has turned out.

An early-July start is no longer feasible with no agreement on how to spread the money around, and the scoffed-at 50-game season threatened last week by the owners is now looking like the best bet for baseball.