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Dallas County reports 82 coronavirus cases — the most in a single day; 2 DART employees test positive

Tarrant County announced 20 COVID-9 cases, and Denton County added 15.

Updated at 6 p.m.: Revised to include new Ellis County cases.

Dallas County on Tuesday announced its highest number of new coronavirus cases in a single day — 82 — as well as two additional deaths related to the disease.

So far during the pandemic, the county has reported 631 cases of COVID-19 and 13 deaths.

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The patients who died were a Rowlett man in his 50s and a Dallas man in his 90s, the county said. Both had underlying health conditions.

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Health officials also noted that 26 cases of COVID-19 involving long-term care facilities, including two deaths, have been reported in the last week. The number of people hospitalized in ICUs in the last week because of the illness exceeded the number of ICU hospitalizations during the peak of the 2019-20 flu season, they said.

“We are at the beginning of what will be a difficult time for Texas, especially here,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement. “We need each one of you to #StayInTheFight! To do that, I need you to practice self-care, have faith in the science, and #StaySafebyStayingHome.”

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The county also released updated demographic breakdowns of all its coronavirus cases Tuesday.

Seven of the total number of coronavirus cases — about 1% — are under the age of 18. Patients 18-40 and patients 41-60 each account for 36% of the cases, while 27% of cases are among patients older than 60. Forty-four percent of the patients are women, and 56% are men.

Nearly 400 of the county’s cases, or 62%, are among Dallas residents. Seventeen cases have been reported among inmates.

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About 30% of the county’s coronavirus cases have required hospitalization at some point. Of those, about three-quarters were older than 60 or had a high-risk health condition. Diabetes was the most common such condition, present in 28% of hospitalized patients.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County announced 20 additional cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, but the total number of cases in the county grew further because of a change in how they’re being reported.

Officials began reporting provisional cases this week — cases that are confirmed by lab reports “but are pending on investigational data,” according to public health director Vinny Taneja.

Combined, that brings the total number of cases in Tarrant County to 273.

“Until now, we have only been reporting confirmed cases, but as the numbers in Tarrant County continue to increase, we want to provide the public with as much information as possible about the spread of COVID-19 in our communities,” Taneja said Monday in a written statement.

In Dallas County, health officials made a similar change in reporting March 19, saying at the time that local laboratories’ “presumptive positive” tests would be considered positive COVID-19 cases without the need to send the samples to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further testing.

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Tarrant County has reported one coronavirus-related death, and eight patients have recovered. More than half the cases are the result of community spread of the disease.

On Monday, Arlington’s parks and recreation department closed all of the city’s playgrounds and workout stations over concerns about social distancing.

Similarly, Fort Worth took down the rims and nets from the city’s basketball and volleyball courts, citing a lack of social distancing over the weekend.

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Denton County

Denton County health officials announced 15 additional cases of the new coronavirus, bringing the county’s total to 206.

They also reported the county’s fourth virus-related death, a man in his 60s who lived in The Colony.

The new cases included one resident and one staff member at the Denton State Supported Living Center, a facility that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Fifty residents and 23 employees at the center have tested positive.

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County commissioners extended their stay-at-home order until April 7 on Tuesday, and they expect it will be extended even further.

“We know these strict measures cause hardships, but we must keep residents at home to curb community spread and limit the potential for overwhelming our medical facilities,” County Judge Andy Eads said in a written statement.

Collin County

Collin County reported a total of 184 cases on Tuesday, up from 160. Of those, 53 have recovered and one has died, officials said.

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In addition, of the 130 still-ongoing cases, 24 are hospitalized and 106 are in home isolation, officials said.

Meanwhile, the Plano City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to update its declaration of local disaster, possibly including a shelter-in-place ordinance.

“Whatever we do, our ultimate goal is really to drive behavior to encourage people to stay at home,” Mayor Harry LaRosiliere said.

Rockwall County

Rockwall County confirmed two additional cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, bringing the county’s total to nine.

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The two cases came from residents of Royse City and Fate.

Ellis County

Officials in Ellis County said there were four more cases of COVID-19 there, raising the county’s total to 20.

One person has died in Ellis County after being infected with the new coronavirus, and none of the other 19 has yet recovered.

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DART employees

Two DART workers who have contact with the public — a police officer and a bus driver — have COVID-19, the agency said.

Both employees are isolating at home, and the police car and bus have been taken out of service.

“DART remains committed to doing everything possible to keep our patrons and employees safe and will continue enhanced cleaning protocols for buses, light rail and paratransit vehicles, as well as all DART office and maintenance facilities," the agency said in a statement.

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Fort Worth officer

A third Fort Worth police officer tested positive for the coronavirus, the department said Tuesday.

The officer, who works in the same unit as two others who tested positive Saturday, is isolated at home.

The department said in a news release that it had created a team to investigate the movements and encounters of officers who test positive, and to notify people who may need to self-quarantine because of contact with those officers.

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The department also said it was disinfecting vehicles and the offices where the officers worked.

“We ask the community to pray for a speedy recovery for our officers and please help us stop the spread,” the department said.

Mexican consulate staffer

A staff member at the General Consulate of Mexico in Dallas tested positive for coronavirus last week, Dallas Mexican Consul Francisco de la Torre told The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday.

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The staff member began feeling sick on March 20 and was tested March 23. The employee notified the consulate on Wednesday that he had tested positive.

De la Torre said the person’s duties did not require interaction with the public.

A total of 82 people, 12 of whom are Mexican diplomats, work at the consulate building at River Bend Drive and Interstate 35E, near Dallas Love Field.

Staff writers Joseph Hoyt, Obed Manuel, Reese Oxner and Teri Webster contributed to this report.

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