Confirmed cases of COVID-19 are on the rise once again in Denton County and throughout the state.

Over the seven reporting days ending Oct. 16, Denton County has seen 743 new positive cases confirmed by molecular test, its highest weekly mark since early September. In addition, a new stream of antigen tests has added to the county’s understanding of how this disease is spreading among local residents.

The antigen testing has revealed more than 1,500 confirmed cases that had previously gone unreported. The first batch of these Denton County antigen-test results was reported Oct. 6, but the cases themselves occurred largely in the weeks and months prior to that, according to the county COVID-19 dashboard.
Here is how the cases break down by city in Community Impact Newspaper’s coverage area.
  • Lewisville: 259 active cases, 2,021 recovered cases, 16 deaths
  • Flower Mound: 158 active cases, 742 recovered cases, 1 death
  • Highland Village: 38 active cases, 154 recovered cases, 3 deaths
In Texas there were 27.5 confirmed cases per 1,000 people as of Oct. 16. Here are the rates for the four North Texas counties as of Oct. 16. These numbers take population differences into account.
The numbers of confirmed cases are partly dependent on the number of tests administered, which is why the state tracks positivity rate as one of its key indicators.

The state's weekly positivity rate hit a record high of 24% as of Aug. 11 and has recently come down closer to 8%. The rate is averaged over the previous seven days and calculates the ratio of positive new cases compared with the number of tests conducted.

Gov. Greg Abbott has previously said that a rate of 10% or more is cause for concern. Here is a look at the rate since early April.