Coronavirus live updates Sept. 21: 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 school board to reconsider moving forward with in-person learning on Oct. 5
Fort Worth school officials may decide to extend online learning despite voting against an extension last week.
On the agenda for Tuesday’s Fort Worth Independent School District board of trustees meeting, members will discuss and possibly vote to extend the transition from online learning until Oct. 30. The transition to optional in-person classes would then be completed Nov. 2.
On Sept. 15, the board voted 5-4 to start optional in-person classes on Oct. 5. Board members heard from Tarrant County Health Director Vinny Taneja about COVID-19 data as well as recommendations from Superintendent Kent Scribner, district administrators and members of the public.
Trustees Tobi Jackson, Daphne Brookins, Anne Darr, C.J. Evans and Norman Robbins voted against a measure to push back the start date. Board members Quinton Phillips, Anael Luebanos, Ashley Paz and President Jacinto Ramos Jr. were in favor of continuing online-only learning for the additional four weeks allowed by Texas Education Agency guidelines.
Clint Bond, Fort Worth ISD spokesperson, told the Star-Telegram that board members requested the Oct. 5 start date be reconsidered at the Sept. 22 meeting, but that Scribner will recommend that schools should start in-person on Oct. 5.
Fort Worth high school staff in quarantine after possible exposure to COVID-19
Several staff members at South Hills High School are in quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19, a Fort Worth school district official said.
Clint Bond, Fort Worth ISD spokesperson, said contact tracing efforts from Tarrant County identified that some staff members could have been exposed to the virus. Bond said he could not reveal how many staff members are quarantined or if any of them have COVID-19.
Staff members have to be quarantined for 14 days and the district will conduct a thorough cleaning of the high school, Bond said. He could not provide when staff members initially went into quarantine.
No other schools in the district have had staff quarantined or had outbreaks, he said.
A Facebook post made Saturday claimed that the principal and secretary have not been wearing masks on campus. Bond said that according to the district’s back to school plan, employees must wear a mask while on campus. He did not say if the claims about the principal and secretary are true.
Bond said first-year teachers and some administrative staff have been back on Fort Worth campuses since the first week of September and teaching from there so they can get acclimated to the district. The school has not been closed to those who aren’t in quarantine and are expected to be back at work on Monday.
Tarrant County reports 13 more COVID-19 deaths
Tarrant County Public Health reported 13 COVID-19 deaths over the weekend, two of which were from July and five from August, according to a county news release.
The deceased include a man and woman from Azle in their 90s, a man from Fort Worth in his 90s, a man from Keller in his 80s, a man and woman from Azle in their 80s, a man from Arlington in his 80s, a man and woman from Fort Worth in their 80s, a man from Fort Worth in his 70s, a woman from Azle in her 70s, a woman from Mansfield in her 60s, and a man from Crowley in his 30s. All had underlying health conditions, county officials said.
Tarrant County now has 633 confirmed deaths from the COVID-19 virus, and an estimated 41,161 people have recovered as of Sunday out of a total of 46,898 cases.
On Sunday, 361 new coronavirus cases were reported on the county’s website.
COVID-19 causes respiratory illness with cough, fever and shortness of breath and may lead to bronchitis and severe pneumonia. For more information go to coronavirus.tarrantcounty.com or call the Tarrant County Public Health information line, 817-248-6299.
On Sunday, Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 771 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total confirmed case count in Dallas County to 77,889 including 995 confirmed deaths.
Of the 771 new cases, 306 were previously unreported cases from more than a month ago due to a state lab backlog.
An additional 64 new probable cases with positive antigen test results were reported in Dallas County, bringing the total probable cases in Dallas County to 3,863, including 11 probable deaths from COVID-19, according to a county news release.
Dallas County reported one death on Sunday of a man in his 80s who was a resident of Garland. He had been critically ill in an area hospital, and had underlying high risk health conditions.
Pre-K levels the field in education for Fort Worth kids. But it’s hard to do online.
Every weekday morning last spring, Tamara Sapp sat down with her daughter, logged into her daughter’s online learning portal and started the school day.
Some things went better than others, Sapp said. Her daughter loved music time, but she zoned out during story time. And when her teacher gave her short assignments to help prepare her for writing, it was a struggle to get her to do them.
“She likes to bargain with me — ‘I’ll do half, and then I’ll do the other half later,’” Sapp said.
Sapp’s daughter was in pre-K last year at South Hi Mount Elementary School in Fort Worth. When COVID-19 reached North Texas and school districts across the region shut down, her daughter’s classes moved online.
Trying to do school remotely wasn’t ideal, Sapp said. Even though her daughter was only online twice a day for a half hour at a time, Sapp worried about how well she’d be able to pay attention and how much information she’d retain. She still worries about it this year, as her daughter starts kindergarten. But until schools reopen in person, Sapp knows she doesn’t have any other choice.
Education leaders and researchers say pre-K is a critically important time in students’ lives because of the rapid rate at which children’s brains are developing. A high-quality pre-K program can help close achievement gaps between at-risk students and their peers. But researchers say the characteristics that make pre-K programs effective also make them the most challenging programs to teach remotely. If districts can’t find a solution, all the benefits of high-quality pre-K could be at risk.
Fort Worth church helps hardest-hit communities during the COVID-19 pandemic
In less than an hour-an-a-half, 500 families were provided with a free week’s supply of fruits and vegetables Thursday at the parking lot of Great Commission Baptist Church in South Fort Worth. Nearly every family was Latino or Black.
Terrence Howard, a reverend at the church, said they teamed up with World Relief North Texas, a nonprofit Christian organization that helps immigrants and refugees, to set up the drive-up food pantry because their community was in need.
“This pandemic has taken a toll on our neighbors and families,” Howard said. “You’d be surprised, but when a family is struggling to make ends meet, they’ll pay the bills and the rent but food is often the last thing they’ll buy.”
About 3-in-4 Latino households say the pandemic has caused serious financial problems, according to a recent study by NPR, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Many of those surveyed in the study say they have depleted their savings and are having major problems paying for basic costs of living, including food, rent and medical care.
Because Latino, Black, and Native American people are also at a higher risk of getting sick and dying of COVID-19, experts say these communities are being hit twice by the pandemic.
Tarrant County hospital capacity
Hospital capacity by available beds and ventilators for Tarrant County. Data provided by Tarrant County Public Health.
Hometown Hero: This Fort Worth ISD employee collected donations to pay people’s bills amid COVID-19
A mother of a Fort Worth student had her water and electricity cut off in early September. It was one of the hottest days of the year, and she was scared of how long her children would be left without air conditioning. All while in the middle of a pandemic.
But Faiha Al-Atrash wouldn’t let that happen on her watch. Al-Atrash, the community and parent coordinator at International Newcomer Academy, paid for the mother’s bills through donations from the community to get her power back on the same day.
“I am lucky enough to have the community stand behind me and give me all the support,” she said.
Al-Atrash has made it her personal mission to help her school’s families during the pandemic. As unemployment claims rise and COVID-19 brings about a recession, more and more families are struggling to put food on the table. Working with churches and residents, Al-Atrash has given away food, prepaid debit cards and provided support to the families within her institution.
The Fort Worth school district’s International Newcomer Academy serves immigrant students from sixth to ninth grade. The school’s curriculum is designed to orient students to U.S. culture and teach them the language.
Texas reports lowest unemployment rate since March, when coronavirus hit the state
Six months after the coronavirus pandemic hit Texas, the unemployment rate has dropped to 6.8%, the lowest rate since March 2020, when it was at 5.1%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
August’s data shows that the state’s economy is improving. In April, the unemployment rate hit a peak of 13.5% and has decreased since, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In last month’s report, the unemployment rate was at 8%.
In August, the professional and business services sector added 33,200 jobs; trade, transportation and utilities added 28,800 jobs; and the government sector added 25,000 jobs, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
“The Texas unemployment rate continues to move in a positive direction as job seekers and employers adjust to current challenges,” said, Bryan Daniel, Texas Workforce Commission chairman.
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.
This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 9:43 AM.