Coronavirus live updates Aug. 19: 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.
Fort Worth has nearly $9 million available to help businesses with COVID needs
Fort Worth has nearly $9 million to help small businesses hurting because the coronavirus, which may become available to a greater number of businesses.
Back in April the city set aside $15 million from the federal stimulus for small business assistance grants. About $6.2 million has gone out to 842 businesses. More than 90% are businesses with five or fewer employees, said Robert Sturns, the city’s economic development director.
The remaining $8.8 million will be doled out in a new round of grants for small businesses with 500 or fewer employees, bars and music venues closed as of June 26 and nonprofits that have not received help through a Tarrant County program.
United Way of Tarrant County will administer the grants. Sturns said he hopes to have the second phase of the small business program, called Preserve the Fort, open by the end of the month. United Way’s online application tool will be used again, he said. More information is available by calling 817-515-2603.
A small business will be eligible for up to 1.5 times its gross average monthly revenue, capped at $150,000. Bars and music venues can receive up to three times the lost average monthly revenue up to $100,000. The business must have been open as of Jan. 1, 2020. Owners must demonstrate a reduction in revenue or employment March 1 through June 30.
Nonprofits can receive up to $50,000 based on expenses incurred due to the coronavirus. To qualify they must demonstrate unbudgeted costs between March 1 and Oct. 31 related to making it safe for employees and clients.
The grants can be used to cover payroll, health care benefits, rent or lease payments, personal protective equipment, sanitation and other costs of doing business.
Tarrant County coronavirus metrics stay low but officials warn of West Nile outbreak
While Tarrant County continues to see backlogged cases being added to its coronavirus totals, county officials say that won’t affect the county’s downward trend.
On Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, the county added a combined 1,728 cases from test specimens collected over a month ago, due to an electronic lab report backlog from the Texas Department of State Health Services. The county now reports a total of 38,476 COVID-19 cases, including 462 deaths and an estimated 30,692 recoveries.
While on the surface it seems there is a massive surge in cases, the county’s epidemic curve continues to trend downward, Vinny Taneja, the county’s public health director, said after Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting.
On top of that, the number of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients continues to decline, with 7% of all beds occupied by such patients Tuesday. That’s a decrease from about 13% a month ago, Taneja told commissioners.
Taneja said what is frustrating about the backlogged data from a month ago is that contact tracing can’t be done. The public health department may also not know what the complete picture of the virus is if data is incomplete.
Taneja also warned the Commissioners Court that if the county’s mosquito positivity rate doesn’t lower, there could be a West Nile virus outbreak on the horizon.
Currently, 35% of mosquito pools are testing positive for the virus in the county and 50% of mosquito pools tested in northeast Tarrant County are positive. Both numbers are too high and they translate to more human cases, Taneja said.
The county is worried about under-reporting in West Nile human cases because some people may test negative for COVID-19 and not decide to be tested for West Nile.
Tarrant County hospital capacity
Hospital capacity by available beds and ventilators for Tarrant County. Data provided by Tarrant County Public Health.
Tarrant County adds more unreported COVID cases over a month old, plus 3 new deaths
Tarrant County reported 460 new coronavirus cases and three deaths on Tuesday.
County officials said 229 of Tuesday’s cases are from a backlog in reporting data from more than a month ago.
The latest pandemic-related deaths include an Arlington man in his 60s, a White Settlement man in his 70s, and a Fort Worth woman in her 80s. Each had underlying health conditions.
Tarrant County has reported a total of 38,476 COVID-19 cases, including 462 deaths and an estimated 30,692 recoveries.
Dallas County reports increase in COVID cases in children, including 227 since Aug. 6
Dallas County reported 787 new coronavirus cases and 10 deaths on Tuesday.
Only 237 of Tuesday’s cases are new. The others are from a backlog of unreported cases from 30 days ago or older. The county reported 1,850 cases on Monday, most of which were unreported cases from June because of the same coding error in Texas’ data reporting system.
Dallas County has confirmed 66,065 COVID-19 cases, including 839 deaths.
County health officials report 227 children between 5 and 18 tested positive for COVID-19 from Aug. 6-14. Since July 1, 3,549 children in the county have contracted the coronavirus, including 66 who have been hospitalized.
The deaths include a Balch Spring man in his 50s, an Irving woman in her 60s, a Dallas woman and man in their 60s, two Dallas men and a woman in their 70s, and two Dallas men and a Grand Prairie man in their 80s. One of the Dallas men in their 80s was a resident of a long-term care facility.
All 10 had underlying health conditions, according to officials.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said the recent addition of unreported cases from earlier this summer should not make residents lose faith in the safety measures and social distancing policies.
“It is quite understandable at this point that people would have concerns about computer programs, coding errors, contractors who did not mail things timely and other human errors around testing and reporting,” Jenkins said in a release and on social media. “However the underlying science and the medical recommendations to you and the public are sound, and when employed, are effective around the globe.”
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.
Denton County reports single-day record COVID-19 deaths, surge in new cases Tuesday
Denton County reported eight more coronavirus deaths and 157 new cases on Tuesday.
The eight deaths are the most reported by the county in a day and the 157 cases are the most since 188 on July 30.
The latest COVID-19 deaths include a man in his 60s from rural northwest Denton County, two women in their 70s and a man in his 80s who were residents of The Vintage Health Care Center in Denton, two women over 80 in Frisco and Lewisville, a Denton woman in her 70s, and a Denton man in his 80s.
Denton County has confirmed 8,584 COVID-19 cases, including 90 deaths and 5,839 recoveries.
“As we report the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 today, I ask that you keep the families of these eight individuals in your thoughts and prayers,” Denton County Judge Andy Eads said in a release. “The news of these deaths underscore the importance of consistently practicing the public health recommendations to ensure you and your family are safe during this ongoing pandemic.”
Denton County has reported 36 pandemic-related deaths in August after reporting 17 in July and six in June.
“As we work through investigations of positive cases and deaths due to Denton County, we’re reiterating what everyone already knows: it is imperative we continue to wear masks and stay physically distant from one another,” Denton County Public Health Director Dr. Matt Richardson said. “We owe compliance to our friends, families, and neighbors that are our most vulnerable.”