Coronavirus live updates Aug. 14: 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.
State agency is investigating Texas’ spike in COVID positivity rate, Abbott says
Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday that the state is investigating Texas’ positivity rate that has skyrocketed in recent weeks.
While hospitalizations and daily new cases of the novel coronavirus have declined from record highs, the state’s positivity rate — the number of positive cases out of the total tested — has exceeded 20% in recent days.
After Texas’ seven-day average positivity rate reached 24.5% Tuesday, it dramatically dropped to 16.08% Wednesday, according to Texas Department of State Health Services data.
For contact tracing to be effective, experts say the rate should be under 5%.
The Texas Department of State Health Services, “brought in a data team to dig into it to find out exactly what the reason is for the increase in the positivity,” Abbott said during a press conference in Lubbock Thursday afternoon.
As the state’s positivity rate has risen, COVID-19 testing has plummeted. The state reported an average of 28,304 new viral tests a day for the week ending on Aug. 11, down from an average of 62,801 for the week ending July 18.
Fort Worth school officials worry about the ‘COVID slide.’ Here’s what you should know.
Back in the spring, when they were all working from home, Lonnetta Wilson and her three kids came up with a system.
When her kindergartner, Malachi, had trouble with his online schoolwork, he’d ask his older sister, Kaydi, for help. When Kaydi, a second-grader, had trouble, she’d turn to the oldest, Jeremiah, a sixth-grader. And when Jeremiah had problems, he’d ask his mom.
That was the only way Wilson could make sure all three kids had what they needed and she still had enough time for her own work. Wilson is a single mom and a social worker for Tarrant County Public Health, where she works with some of the county’s most vulnerable patients. Trying to balance her job with managing her kids’ online school work was daunting, she said.
“There’s more of them than me, and that was rough,” she said.
Malachi and Kaydi go to Harmony Science Academy, a charter school in Fort Worth. Jeremiah goes to Fort Worth ISD’s Young Men’s Leadership Academy. Wilson said she feels good about where Jeremiah and Kaydi are academically. They’re bright kids, and they adapted to online learning fairly well, she said. But during the shutdown, her youngest, Malachi, missed out on a lot of the foundational concepts that form the building blocks of reading, she said. While she’s confident his teachers will be able to help him catch up, she knows he’ll start first grade behind.
Wilson is among many parents who worry about how school shutdowns affect their children academically. And those concerns aren’t limited to parents. As education researchers, school leaders and policy makers raise alarms about how the school shutdowns will affect students’ academic careers, Fort Worth ISD officials are working out plans to help those students make up the ground they lost.
Complaint filed against Peaster ISD superintendent for not enforcing COVID-19 masks
Peaster ISD has opted to not enforce face coverings as it prepares to reopen for fall classes, prompting two parents to file a complaint with the Parker County school district.
Kjersti Powers and her husband Frank — who have two students in the district — filed the complaint July 31, four days after meeting with Peaster ISD Superintendent Lance Johnson to discuss their “concerns with his lack of health and safety standards” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Star-Telegram, but he told the Weatherford Democrat that safety is his number one concern.
“Safety is our top priority, and we do not believe that our students or staff will be in harm’s way, as recent illnesses have had little impact on our community,” Johnson told the Democrat. “We can continue to provide a safe learning environment face-to-face in Peaster ISD, meet the expectations of parent choice from our community and board of trustees, and continue to provide a free and appropriate education as required by federal statute.”
The Powerses sent a memorandum to Mike Bowling, Peaster ISD’s board of trustees president, along with the complaint and claimed that Johnson told them he wouldn’t enforce face coverings because there is a federal program called Free Appropriate Public Education that would allow him to disregard Gov. Greg Abbott’s orders. Bowling did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Free Appropriate Public Education requirement protects the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance, and it is unclear if it would allow for the district to be exempt from Abbott’s order. There have been no other school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex that have been reported to cite this requirement in an effort to circumvent Abbott’s order.
Tarrant County surpasses 35,000 total COVID cases, reports 8 more deaths
Tarrant County reported 355 new coronavirus cases and eight deaths on Thursday.
The latest COVID-19 deaths include a Fort Worth man in his 50s, a Fort Worth woman in her 70s, three Fort Worth women in their 80s, an Azle man in his 60s, a Kennedale woman in her 60s, and a Grapevine man in his 70s.
All had underlying health conditions, according to officials. The first pandemic-related death in Edgecliff Village has been reported, according to the county’s data.
Tarrant County has reported a total of 35,129 COVID-19 cases, including 442 deaths and an estimated 25,045 recoveries.
The county has reported 20 COVID deaths since Monday.
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 passes 800 COVID deaths, 56,000 cases with increase reported Thursday
Dallas County reported 641 new coronavirus cases and 14 deaths on Thursday.
The county has reported 53 COVID-19 deaths since Monday.
The latest deaths include a Garland man in his 30s, a Dallas man and woman in their 50s, and a Farmers Branch man in his 50s. Others included two Dallas women and a man in their 60s, a Garland man in his 60s, two Dallas women in their 70s, two Dallas women and a Garland man in their 80s, and an Irving man in his 90s.
One of the Dallas women in her 80s was a resident of a long-term care facility. Only the Dallas man in his 60s and the Garland man in his 80s had no underlying health issues, according to officials.
Dallas County has confirmed 56,428 COVID-19 cases, including 807 deaths. The county is not reporting recoveries.
Thursday’s new cases are the most since 843 were reported on Sunday and are tied for the second most reported in August.
Denton County reports seven more COVID-19 deaths, surpasses 8,000 total cases Thursday
Denton County reported seven more coronavirus deaths and 118 new cases on Thursday.
The county has reported 18 COVID-19 deaths in the past three days to increase its total to 80.
The latest deaths in the county include a Little Elm man in his 50s, man in his 60s who lived in southeast unincorporated Denton County, a Northlake man in his 70s, a Denton woman in her 70s who was a resident of Cottonwood Nursing and Rehabilitation, a woman over 80 who was a resident of Countryside Nursing and Rehabilitation in Pilot Point, and a man and woman over 80 who were residents of The Vintage Health Care Center in Denton.
“Please keep the family of these seven individuals who died from COVID-19 in your thoughts and prayers,” Denton County Judge Andy Eads said in a release. “Though there have been a number of deaths reported this week in Denton County, we remain cautiously optimistic about fewer new cases of COVID-19 being reported and the ongoing increase in the number of recoveries.”
Denton County has confirmed 8,077 COVID-19 cases, including 5,103 recoveries.
Dallas Cowboys say fans will be in pods for games at AT&T Stadium, masks required
One day after Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he planned on having fans at every game at AT&T Stadium, the team revealed its “Safe Stadium Policy” and COVID-19 protocols for the 2020 season, which will include cashless transactions, fans socially distancing in pods and requirements that most fans wear mask while inside the stadium
Jones said he didn’t know how many spectators will be allowed to witness games inside the stadium, but the team will follow the state of Texas guidelines, which currently stands at 50 percent of capacity. AT&T Stadium has 80,000 seats, but routinely admits considerably more fans than that.
Jones said the 3 million-square-foot arena, which can accommodate over 100,000 fans, has plenty of space for fans to social distance, while grouping in pods.
“The Dallas Cowboys plan on playing all our football games, and we plan on playing them in front of our fans,” he said at a press conference Wednesday that marked the opening of training camp. “When you look at a number in the stadium, don’t think that numbers [are] getting together out there. They’re not. It’ll be in pods of possibly five, 10, 15 different people. Our stadium is well-suited to put together numbers of people that have elected to come and want to watch the Dallas Cowboys play.”
The Cowboys’ endeavor is seemingly more aggressive than what other teams around the NFL are doing. The New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Football Team have already announced that they will have no fans at games this season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The New Orleans Saints have said they will have no fans at their home opener. The Green Bay Packers will have no fans for the first two games.