COVID-19 positivity rate in Tarrant County remains higher than state average

Editor’s note: This is the latest information reported by Tarrant County, Denton County and the state of Texas through their public dashboards.

As of Oct. 15, the level of community spread of the coronavirus remains "substantial" in Tarrant County, according to public health officials.

Tarrant County Public Health has confirmed 655 new coronavirus cases in the county in the past 24 hours.

Since public health officials began tracking the virus in mid-March, a total of 57,438 cases have been confirmed in Tarrant County, including 698 deaths and 47,780 patients who have recovered.

Among ZIP codes in North Tarrant County, ZIP code 76244 has the greatest number of new cases, with 137, reported between Oct. 7-15. That brings the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in that ZIP code to 1,252, which represents a rate of 351 cases per 100,000 residents during the past 30 days.

The ZIP code with the second-highest number of new cases reported during that same time was 76051, with 73 new cases, for a 30-day rate of 302 cases per 100,000 residents. There is now a total of 940 cases confirmed in ZIP code 76051.

The ZIP code with the third-highest number of new cases reported was 76092, with 68 new cases, for a 30-day rate of 541 cases per 100,000 residents. There is now a total of 594 cases confirmed in that ZIP code.

The next highest number of new cases during that time was recorded in ZIP code 76262, with 65. According to Denton County Public Health, there is a total of 388 confirmed cases in ZIP code 76262, including 309 patients who have recovered. In the city of Roanoke, officials have confirmed 138 total cases of COVID-19, including 105 patients who have recovered.

Elsewhere in North Tarrant County, ZIP code 76248 has seen 64 new cases since Oct. 7. There are now 765 total cases in that ZIP code, which represents a 30-day rate of 317 cases per 100,000 residents.

During that same time period, ZIP code 76034 has seen 58 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 475 cases and a 30-day case rate of 513 per 100,000 residents.

In addition, 26 new cases have been confirmed in ZIP code 76177 since Oct. 7 for a total of 305 cases in that ZIP code. The 30-day case rate in ZIP code 76177 is 746 cases per 100,000 residents.

In Denton County, officials announced Oct. 15 that Judge Andy Eads was the second county official to test positive for COVID-19.

Eads has been in quarantine since Monday, when he was informed that he had possibly been exposed to the novel coronavirus, the county said in a statement. Bobbie Mitchell, who is running for re-election to the Denton County Commissioners Court, had earlier tested positive for COVID-19.

“I want everyone to know that I feel good and will continue to work at home while I recover,” Eads said in the statement.

Since Monday, Eads has only been near members of his household, the county said.

The numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 are partly dependent upon 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 but was down closer to 8% as of Oct. 14. The rate is averaged over the previous seven days and calculates the ratio of positive new cases compared with the number of tests conducted.

As of Oct. 15, the positivity rate in Tarrant County was roughly 12%.

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.

Among the key indicators to watch, health experts have said, is the number of hospitalizations.

As of Oct. 15, Tarrant County health numbers indicate a total of 442 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in the county. According to TCPH, there are 219 occupied ventilators and 544 available ventilators in the county.

In Denton County, as of Oct. 15, there are 59 beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, according to Denton County Public Health. In addition, there are 83 ventilators occupied and 302 ventilators available within the county.