The Tarrant County Public Health Department confirms 1,710 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday along with five more deaths, bringing the county's total number of confirmed and probable cases of the virus to nearly 95,000 with 835 fatalities.
In the last seven days, the county has announced 11,040 new cases of the virus. Of the additional cases reported Tuesday, data from the county health department indicates there are 1,281 more confirmed cases than the day before and 429 more probable cases.
The five latest victims of the virus include a woman from Fort Worth in her 80s, a man from Sansom Park in his 70s, a woman from Fort Worth in her 70s, a woman from Fort Worth in her 50s, and a man from Fort Worth in his 40s. All had underlying health conditions.
Tarrant County, which extended its mask mandate until Feb. 28, 2021, on Tuesday, began reporting both probable and confirmed cases in August at the request of the state health department. Probable cases, the county said, account for a variety of real-world situations and could highlight cases in the community that may otherwise go unreported. To date, the county has reported 83,867 confirmed cases of the virus and 10,820 probable cases for a total of 94,687 cases.
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The county is also reporting another 457 estimated recoveries, bringing the total number of survivors to 66,942. There are currently an estimated 26,910 active cases in the county, the most of any North Texas county.
Of the county's cases, 71% of those who have died were over the age of 65 even though they only make up 10% of the cases. Those aged 25 to 44 make up the largest percentage of people with COVID-19 at 36%.
The health department reports 804 COVID-19 patients are currently occupying hospital beds in the county on Tuesday -- about 16% of capacity and a jump of 26 patients compared to Monday. TCPH data shows 770 ventilators on hand with 501 being available; of the 269 in use, it's not clear how many are in use by COVID-19 patients.
Officials at the county's public health department will not be providing updated COVID-19 numbers on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, due to the Thanksgiving holiday, and will resume normal reporting on Sunday.
Last week, Tarrant County Public Health issued a public health warning that recommended things like avoiding non-essential travel and large gatherings. It is not a mandate or order.
With 835 deaths now attributed to the virus, COVID-19 is now projected to be the third-leading killer of Tarrant County residents behind cancer and heart disease and is expected to surpass the annual total for stroke later this year.
COVID-19 causes a respiratory illness with cough, fever and shortness of breath and may lead to bronchitis, severe pneumonia or even death. For more information go to coronavirus.tarrantcounty.com or call the Tarrant County Public Health information line, 817-248-6299, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
