Coronavirus live updates July 30: Here’s what to know in the Dallas-Fort Worth area
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.
TABC suspends Dallas-Fort Worth bars that opened for COVID rules protest last weekend
After hundreds of bars reportedly opened across the state on Saturday to protest their state-mandated closure during the coronavirus pandemic, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission suspended the liquor licenses of eight bars in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
The Eight Ball Billiard and Bar in Fort Worth and G Willickers Pub in Arlington were formally served with their suspensions, TABC spokesman Chris Porter said. The other six bars have not yet formally received their suspensions and were not identified.
Owners of the bars that have received notices did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both had their licenses suspended for 30 days.
Porter said the commission conducted 1,600 inspections statewide from Thursday to Sunday, afterward issuing 44 warnings and 18 emergency suspensions to bars. Bars across the state opened Saturday for Freedom Fest, an event where owners defied Gov. Greg Abbott’s June 26 order that closed bars as the state’s coronavirus numbers surged.
Chris Polone, event organizer and owner of Fort Worth music venue The Rail Club Live, told the Star-Telegram on July 24 that he organized Freedom Fest to make the voices of bar owners heard and to show people that bars can open safely.
Fort Worth-area schools discuss their return plans
As coronavirus cases continue to add up, many school districts in Tarrant County still are trying to figure out what fall classes will look like.
Will students be back in their classrooms? Will classes start out online? Will there be a combination of the two?
Many local districts thought they had figured out a plan when Tarrant public health officials — trying to ward off a spike in COVID-19 cases — ordered local schools to hold the first six weeks of classes online.
But then Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday issued a nonbinding guidance stating that health officials couldn’t do that and that only school officials had the authority to “decide whether, when, and how to open school.”
Some school districts, including one in Bexar County, are talking about pushing back against Paxton’s guidance and possibly filing a lawsuit. Others are back to the drawing board.
Parents and students alike are left in limbo, waiting to find out when, how and if school doors will open in a matter of weeks.
In Fort Worth, the school board is holding an emergency online meeting that began at 8 a.m. Thursday to find out what teachers, parents, community leaders and students want. Officials said during a virtual town hall Tuesday night that they have not yet decided if they will stick with online-only classes or allow in-person classes in mid-August.
“We want to hear your thoughts, beliefs & feelings,” Jacinto Ramos Jr., president of the school board, wrote on Twitter.
Here’s a look at what some school districts are doing.
Tarrant Nursing facilities case counts
Here are the self-reported COVID-19 case counts in residents and staff at licensed Tarrant County nursing facilities. You can search by city, nursing facility name, and also sort by columns.
Texas reports single-day record coronavirus deaths, most new cases in a week
Texas health officials confirmed a record 313 new coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, far exceeding the previous single-day high and reflecting a change in how deaths are confirmed and reported.
The previous high in COVID-19 deaths recorded by Texas in its daily reporting was 197 on July 22. The state also reported 9,042 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the most in six days.
The U.S. passed 150,000 coronavirus deaths Wednesday.
According to the state’s official data, in which deaths are confirmed to occur on a specific date, a record 170 deaths were recorded on July 12. The state altered its method of collecting and reporting coronavirus death data beginning Monday. The Texas Department of State Health Services changed its data collection method to speed up the time in which deaths were confirmed and reported to the public and also in an effort to report more accurate data.
Since recording the 170 deaths on July 12, the state’s data showed a drop in daily deaths, including just one death on Saturday and no deaths on Sunday, until Wednesday. But data for those days are subject to change as more death certificates are collected using the new reporting method. In fact, deaths from those days could be among the 313 reported on Wednesday.
When asked if the spike in deaths was a result of the agency’s recent change in classifying COVID-19 related fatalities, DSHS spokesman Chris Van Deusen wrote in an email Wednesday that he didn’t know for sure.
“We expect to get reports of fatalities more quickly, so that could factor in. We may be able to account for some deaths now that would not previously have been reported until later under the old system,” Van Deusen wrote. “This will be a more accurate reflection closer to when the deaths occur.”
Tarrant County reports most new coronavirus cases in more than 2 weeks, 6 more deaths
Tarrant County reported 836 new coronavirus cases and six deaths on Wednesday.
Tarrant County has confirmed a total of 27,151 COVID-19 cases, including 355 deaths and at least 13,613 recoveries.
It’s the most cases reported by the county since July 13, when 879 cases were confirmed, according to county health data.
The latest coronavirus deaths in the county include Fort Worth men in their 40s and 80s, an Arlington man in his 60s and an Arlington woman in her 80s, a North Richland Hills man in his 90s, and a man in his 50s from rural Tarrant County. All six had underlying health conditions.
Of the total pandemic-related deaths in the county, there have been 189 in Fort Worth, 59 in Arlington, 17 in Keller, 14 in Grapevine, 12 in Mansfield, nine in White Settlement, eight each Benbrook and Grand Prairie, five in rural Tarrant County, four each in Bedford and Hurst, three each in Azle, Haltom City and Lake Worth, two each in Euless, Forest Hill, North Richland Hills, Saginaw and Watauga, and one each in Crowley, Kennedale, Lakeside, Pantego, River Oaks, Sansom Park, and Southlake.
Estimated active cases over time
Coronavirus daily active case estimates by local counties in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex, beginning April 8, 2020. Data provided by Texas Health and Human Services.
Dallas County’s Wednesday coronavirus record death total shocking and ‘somber reminder’
Dallas County reported a single-day high 36 coronavirus deaths and 704 new cases on Wednesday.
The previous high was 30 deaths on July 22.
The county has confirmed a total of 48,732 COVID-19 cases, including 658 deaths.
The latest deaths include six patients who did not have underlying health conditions. The ages include one man in his 40s, six men and a woman in their 50s, three men and four women in their 60s, four men and five women in their 70s, six men and two women in their 80s, and three men and a woman in their 90s.
Of the latest deaths, 26 were Dallas residents. Others included two each in Cedar Hill and Seagoville, and one each in Carrollton, Duncanville, Garland, Irving, Lancaster, and Mesquite.
A man in his 50s who was an inmate at a Seagoville correctional facility is the second inmate at that facility to die from COVID-19 this week.
Two of the deceased were found dead at home. Six of the deceased were residents of long-term care facilities. About a third of the coronavirus deaths in Dallas County have been associated with long-term care facilities.
“Today’s 36 deaths is a new single-day reporting record and is a somber reminder of the seriousness of this outbreak,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a release and on social media. Jenkins urged residents to continue practicing social distancing.
“We must continue the spirit of sacrifice for the community good that has led people to forgo unnecessary trips, stay home as much as possible, maintain six feet distancing, and always wear a mask around people outside their homes,” he said. “If only a few people loosen their resolve for personal and community safety, we can find ourselves in a quickly worsening position. It’s up to all of us to #FlattenTheCurve to keep ourselves & our neighbors safe, to get our economy moving stronger, & to get our kids back in school.”
Hometown Hero: Amid COVID-19 closures, this Haltom City resident continues to serve its seniors
For the last 27 years, Bobbi Arthur has made it her mission to serve the people of the Haltom City Senior Citizen Center. When the center closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, it didn’t discourage her from continuing her work — she instead looked for different ways to serve.
When the center was open, members would spend most days there, Arthur, the center supervisor said. It’s a place where they socialized and were taken care of. For some, their only family is the center staff.
When the city notified the center that it had to close, the whole dining room went silent, Arthur said.
“The biggest concern was food,” she said. “A lot of our folks have difficulty getting a hot meal.”
Arthur couldn’t let her “center friends,” as she calls them, stay without the services the center offers. And while the days of being in each other’s company are gone for now, Arthur, her staff, volunteers and city employees devised a plan to keep everyone in touch and fed.
They came up with a plan to deliver meals from Sixty and Better Inc., a non-profit organization that provides resources for the elderly.
The center operates 13 delivery routes and provides meals to over 100 members, Arthur said. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Arthur, her staff and volunteers are at the center giving food to members who can make the trip there.
Both options allow a vulnerable population to get food they need while minimizing the risk of contracting COVID-19, which has affected the elderly population the most. According to the World Health Organization, eight out of 10 COVID-19 deaths reported in the country have been people 65 or older.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations over Time
Coronavirus daily hospitalization counts in Texas and the larger Trauma Service Areas, beginning April 8, 2020. Data provided by Texas Health and Human Services.
Why the Dallas Cowboys’ coronavirus season will be among the most difficult in the NFL
Every NFL team is beset with historic obstacles, but few franchises have more in 2020 than your Dallas Cowboys.
They have not practiced together since December (or at all in front of their new coaching staff), plus their general manager remains Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Jones.
As we have all learned, a Zoom isn’t the same as face-to-face, and having fun at Jerry’s expense is possible even during the time of COVID.
We have also learned something that applies to you and NFL players alike: Working out at home isn’t the same as a gym. That isn’t a huge issue for you, but it is for a pro football player.
“Some guys have just been running on a treadmill during all of this,” former Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware said in a recent interview from his new fitness center gym in Trophy Club. “I’m talking these are some big-time names. And big-time guys. They’ve all lost weight.
“In training camp, the first thing you are worrying about now is the workout program to get the guys in shape. You are not going to be able to put pads on them. I would not put pads on them until the first game.
“The reason why I say that is they practice so hard with shells on, you don’t have to worry if they are going to hit or not. I don’t think they are going to get hurt, but they have to have the right training regiment.”
Texas football looking at 25% capacity for home games. Will others follow suit?
The University of Texas plans to limit capacity to 25% at home football games this fall, interim president Jay Hartzell said Wednesday.
Other Texas-based schools could make similar announcements in the coming days. As of now, the state is allowing up to 50% capacity at outdoor sporting venues amid the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to respond whether the state could reduce capacity at outdoor venues to 25%.
“We’re modeling a number of options including 50%, although that seems less likely,” TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati told the Star-Telegram on Wednesday.
At 25% capacity, Texas would be able to host approximately 25,000 at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. For TCU, it would limit crowds to 11,500 at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Texas A&M’s Kyle Field would be able to hold just over 25,500.
Texas Motor Speedway hosted the state’s first sporting event open to fans with the NASCAR Cup race on July 19. A reported 15,000 to 20,000 fans were on hand at the 125,000-seat track.