Coronavirus live updates Aug. 18: 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.
Tarrant County and Fort Worth to provide expanded COVID-19 testing this week
For the next four days, Tarrant County and the city of Fort Worth will fund new roving COVID-19 saliva testing sites in an effort to expand testing. There will be two testings sites per day for a total of eight.
All the sites will be stationed in Fort Worth, but they are open to all Tarrant County residents, free of cost, according to a county press release. Two new additional sites at Dickies Arena’s Chevrolet Parking Garage and J.P. Elder Middle School will continue testing indefinitely every Tuesday through Friday.
Tests at all sites are available by online appointment at https://covidtesting.tarrantcounty.com/. Those who do not have access to a computer can call 817-248-6299.
“We remain committed to bringing more COVID-19 testing to Tarrant County,” said Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley. “That’s why we’re funding 60 percent of the cost of testing in our partnership with the City of Fort Worth. If you exhibit symptoms, please schedule an appointment and get tested.”
As of Monday, the county has a total of 38,016 cases and 459 deaths. Out of the total cases, 29,362 people have reportedly recovered. Fort Worth remains the hardest-hit city with 17,025 cases and 237 deaths, according to county data.
Mayor Betsy Price said in a statement that the city will continue to collaborate with its partners to make sure COVID-19 testing is readily available.
“Testing plays a critical role in our continued efforts to prioritize public health, keep Fort Worth’s economy open and get our children back in school,” Price said.
TESTING SITES
Aug. 18 from 8 to 11 a.m. at Fort Worth ISD Scarborough-Handley Field parking lot, 6201 Craig St.
Aug. 18 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Como Community Center, 4660 Horne St.
Aug. 19 from 8 to 11 a.m. City Northside Service Center, 309 Hillshire Drive.
Aug. 19 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Tarrant County College-Northwest Campus, 4801 Marine Creek Parkway.
Aug. 20 from 8 to 11 a.m. at La Gran Plaza, 4200 South Freeway.
Aug. 20 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Beth Eden Missionary Baptist Church, 3208 Wilbarger St.
Aug. 21 from 8 to 11 a.m. at Christ Church Assembly of God, 5301 Altamesa Blvd.
Aug. 21 from 2 to -5 p.m. at Hillwood Commons I, 9800 Hillwood Parkway.
INDEFINITE SITES
Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m to noon at Dickies Arena’s Chevrolet Parking Garage.
Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m at J.P. Elder Middle School.
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.
Fifth woman dies from COVID-19 at Fort Worth prison; women say cases have not gone down
A fifth woman has died from coronavirus while incarcerated at FMC Carswell, a federal medical prison for women in Fort Worth.
Wendy Campbell, 56, died on Saturday from COVID-19. She had been at FMC Carswell for five months.
Campbell was seen by medical staff at the prison on July 15 for complications related to liver disease, according to a press release from the Bureau of Prisons. She was taken to a hospital for treatment and tested positive for COVID-19 on July 18.
Four days later, she was discharged from the hospital and returned to Carswell.
On July 27, she again was evaluated by staff for declining mental status due to liver disease. She was taken to the hospital again.
On Aug. 15, Campbell died.
Tarrant County reports 256 new coronavirus cases, no additional deaths
Tarrant County reported 256 additional cases of coronavirus on Monday and no additional COVID-19-related deaths.
Monday’s report brings the county’s total numbers to 38,016 cases and 459 deaths. Out of the total cases, 29,362 people have reportedly recovered.
On Saturday, Tarrant County reported an additional 1,487 coronavirus cases due to an electronic lab report backlog from the Texas Department of State Health Services, according to county officials. Tarrant County officials said 336 of Saturday’s reported cases were new. The others date back to 30 or more days ago, mostly include tests from private labs and had not been previously reported.
On Sunday, the county reported reported 688 additional COVID-19 cases, with 340 being new and the rest previously unreported cases from the backlog.
As of Sunday, 381 hospital beds in Tarrant County were occupied by confirmed COVID-19 patients, according to county data, which is about 8 percent of the county’s beds.
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.
Dallas County continues to report hundreds of coronavirus cases from Texas backlog
Dallas County continued to report hundreds of coroanvirus cases on Monday that were previously uncounted due to a coding error from the Texas Department of State Health Services, according to the Dallas County Health Department.
On Monday, the health department reported 1,850 additional COVID-19 cases and four deaths. The health department did not specify how many of Monday’s cases were from the backlog.
Monday’s cases bring Dallas County’s total cases to 65,278, including 829 confirmed deaths.
The four deaths reported Monday were of a woman in her 40s who lived in Dallas, a woman in her 70s who lived in Dallas, a man in his 70s who lived in Dallas and a woman in her 70s who lived in Richardson. All had underlying high risk health conditions.
Most of Monday’s reported cases came from tests administered in June that went unreported due to the coding error in the State’s electronic laboratory reporting system, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a statement.
“While at this point it is reasonable and understandable for people to be skeptical of the State’s reporting system, it is not reasonable to be skeptical of the science that is proving to be effective throughout the world in controlling the spread of COVID-19,” Jenkins said.
He said wearing a mask, 6-foot distancing, hand-washing and deferring unnecessary trips will help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
While the Texas DSHS is working to resolve the coding error, Jenkins said the county expects to receive more backlogged cases.
‘We lost hope’: Fort Worth ISD parents want choice for in-person learning amid COVID
About a hundred Fort Worth ISD parents and their kids gathered Monday — the day classes were originally to start — at the district’s administration building to protest the decision to delay the school year.
The protest follows the district’s decision to delay the start of the school year until Sept. 8 after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released guidance that it was up to school officials. Classes will be online-only for the first four weeks and the goal is for families then to have the option to continue virtual learning or switch to in-person classes.
School officials had previously released a reopening plan where classes were to start Aug. 17 and families could choose either online or in-person instruction for their children.
Katie Stadler, a mom with four children at FWISD, was one of the protest organizers within the group “Back in School - Back to Safety,” which focuses on getting children back in school.
Stadler said Fort Worth ISD needs to return the choice of either in-person or online-only to parents. The delayed start of the school year also shows poor planning on the board’s part, she said.
As of now, FWISD leaders have not announced a start to in-person classes. In a town hall Zoom meeting Aug. 11, Superintendent Kent Scribner said the decision to delay in-classroom learning was made based on the surge of local COVID-19 cases, KERA reported. He said the seven-day rolling average of positive cases in Tarrant County was still too high to safely open classrooms. Tarrant County’s average was somewhere between 11% and 12%, he said.
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.
