Coronavirus live updates Aug. 7: 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.
With COVID-19 still spreading, Abbott warns flu season could overwhelm Texas hospitals
While the numbers of new cases and patients hospitalized with the novel coronavirus have trended downward recently in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Gov. Greg Abbott warned Thursday that the upcoming flu season has the potential to overwhelm hospitals.
With the virus still spreading throughout Texas, Abbott urged Texans to get their flu vaccine early to protect both themselves and help keep hospital beds available.
“With a flu season that could be prolific, if that leads to greater hospitalizations — coupled with the hospitalizations that we’re seeing for COVID-19 — you can easily see how hospitals in this region as well as across Texas will be completely overrun with an inability for the hospitals to take care of the medical needs of everybody in the entire region,” Abbott said Thursday during a press conference from the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Abbott, health officials and state lawmakers were briefed Thursday morning by health care experts on the upcoming flu season and how the state can combat it amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt said it will be critical to prevent the spread of both COVID-19 and the flu and test widely for both.
Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned in late June that two respiratory, contagious viruses circulating at the same time presents a “real risk.” The CDC notes it is possible to have both the flu and COVID-19 at the same time, and recommends people 6 months and older get an annual flu vaccine.
During the 2018-19 flu season, about 62.6% of children 6 months to 17 years old received a dose of the flu vaccine, while only 45.3% of adults did, according to the CDC. Those at higher-risk of developing severe complications if they contract COVID-19, like people 65 years and older or who have underlying health conditions, also seem to be at higher risk for serious flu complications, according to the CDC.
Texas religious expo exempt from COVID rules. ‘I am as frustrated by that as anyone.’
The south end of downtown Fort Worth has been filled with an unlikely commodity this week: crowds. As in, hundreds to thousands of people have actually been there, attending a large gathering at the convention center and walking in the direction of restaurants and hotels, the way we did in the Before Times.
It is the work of religious leader and televangelist Kenneth Copeland. His Kenneth Copeland Ministries has been hosting the Southwest Believers’ Convention this week. The summit is the Fort Worth Convention Center’s first since the onset of coronavirus after it spent most of March through June functioning as a shelter for roughly 1,600 people experiencing homelessness.
Religious events are mostly exempt from Gov. Greg Abbott’s coronavirus executive orders, allowing for Copeland to host the Southwest Believers’ Convention without following most of the protocols mandatory for other indoor gatherings, including masks, occupancy limitations and social distancing. And many of the attendees from Copeland’s event appear to not be wearing masks or keeping six feet apart. The various speakers, for whom the audience cheers and applauds, have mostly not been wearing masks either.
“I am as frustrated by that as anyone,” Tarrant County Judge B. Glen Whitley said after a County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. “When we are sitting here, trying to figure out how we are going to keep businesses open, keep people working, it frustrates me when you have a group of folks — any group of folks — that say basically ‘I’m going to be above this and I’m not going to worry about what effect I have on someone else.’
“I have rights,” Whitley continued, “but my rights should end at the beginning of the rights of someone else. I want people wearing masks because it protects others who want to be or need to be protected. ... I want us all to respect each other. Wear the mask. It’s a small inconvenience.”
Texas will allow limited visits at nursing homes with no active COVID cases
Families will soon be able to visit their loved ones living in nursing homes and long-term care facilities in person under new rules announced Thursday by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
At the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott, the agency has barred nonessential visitors to nursing homes since March in an effort to protect vulnerable residents from the novel coronavirus’ spread. In recent weeks, lawmakers have called on the agency to relax its rules to allow limited family visits.
“Access to family and loved ones is an important part of every resident’s health and well-being, which is why this policy shift is a move in the right direction for some of our most fragile Texans,” Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, a Republican from Brenham and chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, said in a statement Thursday.
To ensure the safety of staff and residents, visitors will have to abide by certain measures, including no physical contact.
Under the agency’s new rules, nursing home visits may only occur outdoors. In order for a nursing home to allow visitors, it must have had no confirmed COVID-19 cases among staff in the last 14 days, no active cases among residents and staff must be tested weekly. In addition, nursing homes that have seen previous outbreaks must ensure they have adequate staff and are following infection control procedures.
At long-term care facilities, both outdoor and limited indoor visits with the use of plexiglass as a divider will be permitted. Similarly, a facility must have had no positive COVID-19 cases among staff in the last 14 days, no active cases among residents, adequate staffing and comply with infection control measures.
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.
Huge housing development shows coronavirus may not be slowing Fort Worth’s growth
Far north Fort Worth’s boom doesn’t appear to be slowing down as an international developer plans to bring 10,000 to 15,000 new residents to a nature-focused community just west of Texas Motor Speedway.
Today much of Wildflower Ranch is a little more than a pasture, but by this time next year 400 homes will be available in the first phase of the 3,300 single-family home master-planned community centered on Harriet Creek. The development from Houston-based real estate firm Hines is the latest addition to the rapidly growing northern suburbs and Northwest school district.
“This area has been for the last five years one of the top two growth areas in the residential real estate market, so we really feel strongly that this is a prime location,” said Dustin Davidson, Hines managing director. “Frankly, of all the new developments that are coming online, we are kind of positioned to be the crown jewel.”
Homes will range from $200,000 to $400,000 on 40 to 60-foot wide lots, though Davidson said some custom homes could hit $500,000. The location just north of the Alliance Airport hub and just west of the Charles Schwab headquarters in Westlake make it a prime location for both blue collar and white collar workers, he said.
Coronavirus has changed the way many people work and some of the homes reflect that, he said. Builders have developed a few options that include sound-proof studies for those looking for a more comfortable work-from-home atmosphere. Beazer Homes, Bloomfield Homes, Gehan Homes, Highland Homes and Lennar Homes have been tapped for construction.
The location north of Texas 114 and south of Sam Reynolds Road is in Fort Worth’s extrajudicial territory, the buffer around the city that has not been annexed but must follow city building and design standards.
Tarrant County lawmaker among Republicans suing Abbott over COVID-19 contact tracing
Five Republican state lawmakers, including two who represent the surrounding Tarrant County area, are suing Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Health and Human Services in an effort to void the state’s contract with a Frisco-based company to provide contact tracing services during the novel coronavirus’ outbreak.
In a lawsuit filed in Travis County District court on Monday, Republican state Reps. Mike Lang of Granbury, Bill Zedler of Arlington, Kyle Biedermann of Fredericksburg, Steve Toth of The Woodlands and Sen. Bob Hall of Edgewood, allege that the contract awarded to MTX Group did not follow competitive bidding rules and violates the Texas Constitution’s separation of powers.
“The request for proposal for the contract was inadequate, the contract bid process was a sham, and the contract impermissibly exceeds two years,” the lawsuit reads.
In recent months, the state’s contract with MTX has come under fire as lawmakers have questioned how a little-known private information technology company was awarded a $295 million contract over larger companies, like IBM and AT&T.
An investigation last month by the Houston Chronicle found that workers hired to do contact tracing faced technical problems and had accomplished little work.
Abbott dismissed the lawsuit Thursday during a press conference in Dallas.
“I’ve been sued too many times for me to count. Every lawsuit that’s been filed against me I either won in court, or has been dismissed, either by the courts or by the parties. This lawsuit will meet that exact same fate,” Abbott said.
Tarrant County COVID hospitalizations lowest in month; 464 cases, 7 deaths reported
Tarrant County reported 464 new coronavirus cases and seven deaths on Thursday.
The latest COVID-19 deaths included three residents each in Fort Worth and Mansfield and one in Keller. Each had underlying health conditions, according to officials.
The ages included women in their 60s and 80s and a man in his 80s from Mansfield, a man in his 60s and women in their 70s and 80s from Fort Worth, and a Keller woman in her 70s.
Tarrant County has confirmed a total of 32,299 COVID-19 cases, including 411 deaths and an estimated 19,478 recoveries.
COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to drop in the county. As of Tuesday, 10% of all hospital beds in the county were occupied by confirmed COVID-19 patients and 14% of all occupied hospital beds were used by COVID-19 patients. Both are the lowest rates since July 8.
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.
44-year-old woman dies from coronavirus at women’s medical prison in Fort Worth
A fourth inmate at a federal medical prison in Fort Worth died from coronavirus on Monday, the Bureau of Prisons reported.
Veronica Carrera-Perez, 40, tested positive for COVID-19 on July 9 at FMC Carswell. On July 15, she was taken to the hospital for low oxygen. On Monday, she died.
The BOP reported that Carrera-Perez had long-term, pre-existing medical conditions. She was sentenced in the Western District of Texas to 24 years for conspiracy to possess cocaine and methamphetamine. She had been at Carswell since June 18, 2019.
As of Thursday, FMC Carswell reported 150 inmates had active cases of coronavirus, and 392 others had recovered from the virus.
Three other inmates have died from COVID-19 at the prison. Two weeks ago, the prison had the second most active cases of coronavirus out of any federal prison the country. As of Thursday, it had the third most, according to BOP data.
On Saturday, about 15 people protested outside FMC Carswell to call for the release of inmates whose health they said is imperiled by coronavirus.
Dallas County reports 10 more COVID deaths, but new cases drop to fewest in two months
Dallas County reported 10 coronavirus deaths and 230 new cases on Thursday.
It’s the fewest new cases reported by the county since June 1.
Dallas County has reported 65 COVID-19 deaths so far in August, including 31 on Tuesday.
The latest pandemic-related deaths include three residents in Dallas, two each in Garland, Irving and Mesquite, and one in Lancaster.
Among the deaths were an Irving man in his 40s who did not have underlying health conditions. The other nine had underlying conditions. Ages of the deceased also included a Dallas man in his 50s, a Lancaster woman in her 60s, an Irving woman in her 60s, a Dallas man in his 60s who was a resident of a long-term care facility, a Dallas woman in her 60s, two Mesquite men in their 70s, a Garland man in his 70s, and a Garland woman in her 80s.
The county has confirmed a total of 52,869 COVID-19 cases, including 736 deaths. The county does not report recoveries.
Parker County awaits details from Texas officials on additional 13 coronavirus deaths
State health officials have added added 13 more coronavirus deaths in Parker County for a total of 15.
County officials, however, are still waiting for details on the latest deaths from Texas’ Department of State Health Services, including city, age, and sex.
Parker County officials have confirmed 1,160 COVID-19 cases, including 1,120 recoveries and two confirmed deaths, pending the update. The two previous deaths were two Weatherford women ages 56 and 77. Six deaths at a Parker County long-term care facility were reported three weeks ago and could possibly be included in the 13 additional deaths.
Among the total COVID-19 cases in Parker County, there have been 625 in Weatherford, 155 in Azle, 143 in Springtown, and 110 in Aledo. Weatherford had 28 active cases as of Wednesday. Both Aledo and Azle have only three active cases. Springtown has two active.
UIL medical advisory committee passes motion for COVID-19 return to play protocol
The University Interscholastic League Medical Advisory Committee unanimously passed a motion during its teleconference Friday morning discussing COVID-19 return to play protocols.
- All participants who identify as COVID positive need to be cleared by their physician before they can return to their said activity.
High school sports have returned this week in Classes 4A-below with football, volleyball, cross country and team tennis practices on Aug. 3.
The volleyball regular season for 4A-1A begins on Monday, Aug. 10 while cross country and team tennis starts Aug. 17. Football teams, which started with helmets only, can practice in full pads during the week of Aug. 10, hold its only scrimmage during the week of Aug. 17 and play its first game Aug. 27-29.
Class 6A and 5A can start with helmets-only practices on Sept. 7.
The committee discussed their thoughts on the impact of the coronavirus on high schools for 15 minutes before voting on the motion. Some of the concerns committee members had were having athletics while schools begin the year online.
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 11:00 AM.