North Texas as a region now has the highest number of
COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state.
Author: Jennifer Prohov (WFAA) Published: 12:28
PM CDT June 17, 2020 Updated: 11:27 PM
CDT June 17, 2020
Across Texas, there are now at least 2,793
people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, the highest number the state has
seen since the pandemic began.
That number jumped up by 275 more people from
Tuesday's statewide report, which had again broken records for hospitalizations
following days of increasing record highs.
Across North Texas, at least 859 people infected
with the coronavirus are currently hospitalized, according to state officials, another new record high for the region as well. That
number jumped by about 100 people in just one day.
North Texas as a region now has the highest
number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state, surpassing the region
around Houston, which had previously been the state leader.
Those numbers are now up 65% locally and 85%
statewide since Memorial Day.
But during a news conference on Tuesday, Gov.
Greg Abbott dismissed the idea that local governments should be allowed to
require people to wear face masks and said Texas has plenty of hospital
beds to handle patients, so "there is no reason to be
alarmed."
Across Texas, there have been more than 93,000
cases of COVID-19 since tracking began in March, with more than 29,500 in North
Texas.
More than 2,000 people have died from the
disease in Texas, according to state officials.
Top updates for Wednesday, June 17:
·
A group of Texas mayors have asked Gov. Greg
Abbott to allow local governments to require face masks in
public, including a number in North Texas.
·
As cases of COVID-19
and hospitalizations have continued to rise across Texas, an infection disease doctor
explains "this is the consequence" of aggressively
reopening early.
·
Access to free COVID-19 testing sites is
expanding across Dallas County, with several churches and a
college among the new locations.
Dallas County sees
record jump in cases, hospitalizations
Dallas County saw a massive jump in COVID-19
cases on Wednesday, with 413 new cases reported, according to a tweet from Dallas County Judge Clay
Jenkins.
The previous record for the county had been
about 100 cases less than that.
An additional nine people died from the
disease as well, according to Dallas County officials.
"Increasing outbreaks of cases are being
reported from multiple large social gatherings since the beginning of
June," a report from the county said.
Nine separate childcare facilities in the
county have reported a total of 17 cases in children and staff over the past
week as well, officials said. Only one daycare facility had reported any cases
in the past two months prior to this week.
Officials are also looking into the death of a
12-year-old that may be from complications connected to the disease.
Over the last two weeks, Dallas County has
also seen a 40% increase in hospitalizations, which is "of more
concern," Jenkins said.
"If these percentage increases continue,
many more people will get sick and die in the coming weeks," county
officials said.
Denton High School
suspends workouts after positive COVID-19 test
Denton High School has suspended all athletic
workouts and has advised all who attended workouts to self-quarantine for 14
days after someone who worked out at the facility tested positive for COVID-19,
according to a statement from a Denton Independent School District spokesperson
Wednesday night.
Tuesday, it was confirmed five other North
Texas high schools had positive cases of COVID-19.
Hundreds of inmates in
Anderson County test positive
Officials in Anderson County confirmed there
have been 887 cases connected to Texas state prisons in the county, according
to reporting from Monday.
The four state prisons where the cases are
located are Powledge, Coffield, Beto and Michael, County Judge Robert D.
Johnston said, with the largest outbreaks at Beto and Michael.
Across the state, 7,467 inmates have tested
positive, with 2,253 currently active cases, according to state officials. More
than 90 inmates with COVID-19 have died.
There have been 1,129 employees of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice who have tested positive, with eight deaths.
There are currently 366 active cases.
1 inmate, 3 staff
members test positive at Collin County Detention Facility
An inmates and three staff members at the
Collin County Detention Faciilty have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past
few days, the sheriff's office said.
Other staff members are currently being tested
and new precautions have been put in place. The inmate is currently being held
in an isolated infirmary cell, officials said.
The sheriff's office is also working to
increase inmate health monitoring and randomly testing inmates for the
virus.
All incoming inmates are currently being
screened and then tested when appropriate, the sheriff's office said.
5 SMU athletes test
positive
Five student athletes at Southern Methodist
University who had returned to campus for off-season workouts have tested
positive for COVID-19, school officials said. All
five were asymptomatic.
The five athletes will remain in isolation for
two weeks and will receive contactless meal deliveries, according to officials,
along with anyone else found to be impacted during the contact tracing process.
The school had decided to test all students
who had voluntarily returned, a total of 75 people.
Fort Worth ISD
students to choose between in-person or virtual learning
Fort Worth Independent School District
officials said Wednesday parents will need to choose between in-person or
virtual learning for their child come the fall semester, which will start on
Aug. 17.
79 new cases reported
in Collin County
County officials reported there
were 79 new COVID-19 cases across Collin County, raising the county total to
1,866 since tracking began in March.
Of those, 530 are considered active cases,
officials said. Thirty-eight people with the disease have died in the county
and 112 people are currently hospitalized, a jump of about 20 people from the
day before.
Nearly 1,300 people have recovered.
Texas Supreme Court
justice recovers from COVID-19
Texas Supreme Court Justice Debra Lehrman said
Wednesday her symptoms while battling COVID-19 were “quite severe” but she has
fully recovered.
Lehrman is one of nine judges on the state’s
highest court for civil law. She announced May 21 that she and her husband,
Greg, tested positive for the coronavirus despite being diligent about
following social distancing guidelines.
She is the highest-ranking state official in
Texas known to test positive for the coronavirus. Lehrman said she and her
husband will be donating blood plasma to help other patients. —
Associated Press
Rockwall County now up
to 247 cases, state officials say
Three new cases were reported in Rockwall County on
Wednesday, bringing the total number to 247 cases since tracking
began in March. One case was in someone in their 20s, one in their 60s and one
in their 70s, local officials said.
Sixteen people in the county have died from
the disease while 188 have recovered.
Health experts recommend taking the following
actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19:
·
Avoid close contact
with people who are sick.
·
Practice "social
distancing" and stay at least 6 feet away from others and avoid large
public gatherings
·
Avoid touching your
eyes, nose, and mouth.
·
Stay home when you are
sick.
·
Cover your cough or
sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
·
Clean and disinfect
frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning
spray or wipe.
·
Follow CDC’s
recommendations for using a facemask.
·
Wash your hands often
with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the
bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
·
If soap and water are
not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60%
alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
·
Consult CDC’s travel
website for any travel advisories and steps to protect yourself if you plan to
travel outside of the U.S.
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