Tarrant reports 7 COVID deaths, including Fort Worth man in his 30s, 444 new cases
Tarrant County reported seven COVID-19 deaths and 444 new cases on Thursday.
The latest pandemic-related deaths include a Fort Worth man in his 30s, a Euless woman in her 60s, a Sansom Park woman in her 60s, a Watauga man in his 60s, a Fort Worth woman in her 60s, a Euless woman in her 70s, and a Colleyville man in his 80s.
One of the seven did not have underlying health conditions, according to officials.
The county has reported 376,779 COVID-19 cases, including 4,968 deaths and an estimated 365,483 recoveries.
Note to readers: Tarrant County does not release data on the vaccination status of recently diagnosed patients or deaths. Officials have released this type of data once in June and it showed that nearly 100% of the new cases reported at the time (from May to mid-June) were in people who were not vaccinated. Further, county officials said fewer than 200 of those new cases at the time were in previously vaccinated Tarrant residents.
COVID-19 hospitalizations
Hospitalized COVID patients decreased by nine to 233 in the latest seven-day moving average. The pandemic high was 1,528 on Jan. 6.
COVID-19 hospitalizations decreased to 5% from 6% of the total number of beds in Tarrant County and make up 6% of the 3,842 occupied beds. The rate was at a pandemic-high 38% on Jan. 10.
Confirmed COVID patients increased slightly to 5.58% from 5.54% of all available hospital beds in the North Central Texas Trauma Region, which includes 45 counties (divided into three regions). The rate has been below 15% since Oct. 1.
Hospital beds
Tarrant County’s hospital bed occupancy remained at 88%, according to county data. Available hospital beds increased by 35 to 542. The pandemic low was 360 on Sept. 20.
ICU beds
Adult ICU bed occupancy increased to 93% from 92%. The rate was last at a pandemic-high 99% on Oct. 7. Ventilator use increased by six to 230. Patients are using 27% of the 862 ventilators in the county.
Positivity rate
The COVID-19 positive test rate for Tarrant County increased to 7.22% from 7.10% in the latest available seven-day-average data. The rate was last at a pandemic-high 30% on Jan. 7.
Vaccination data
Children ages 5 and older are now eligible for vaccination, so the following vaccination percentages have been altered by the Texas Department of State Health Services to reflect that larger population.
According to Texas DSHS, 64.75% of Tarrant County residents 5 or older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 57.04% of residents 5 or older have been fully vaccinated.
DSHS also reports that 90.91% of Tarrant residents 65 or older have received at least one dose, and 83.69% of residents 65 or older have been fully vaccinated.
More than 70.30% of Texas residents 5 or older have received at least one dose, according to DSHS. The rate of fully vaccinated Texas residents 5 or older is at 60.13%.
Tarrant County is offering free COVID-19 vaccines and testing at locations throughout the area.
Tarrant County COVID-19 deaths by city
Here are the total pandemic-related deaths in Tarrant County by city through Dec. 16:
- Fort Worth, 2,066
- Arlington, 943
- Mansfield, 188
- North Richland Hills, 179
- Bedford, 146
- Haltom City, 125
- Euless, 113
- Hurst, 112
- Rural Tarrant County, 112
- White Settlement, 99
- Grapevine, 92
- Keller, 83
- Azle, 70
- Benbrook, 70
- Watauga, 65
Grand Prairie, 56
Saginaw, 54
Crowley, 52
Richland Hills, 47
Sansom Park, 41
Forest Hill, 38
Southlake, 36
Lake Worth, 28
Colleyville, 23
Kennedale, 22
River Oaks, 22
Everman, 17
Pelican Bay, 10
Westworth Village, 10
Blue Mound, 9
Burleson, 9
Edgecliff Village, 8
Pantego, 8
Unknown, 6
Lakeside, 5
Dalworthington Gardens, 2
Flower Mound, 1
Haslet, 1