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Tarrant County New COVID-19 Cases Jump, Others Drop

Texas Health officialsd reported more than 4,800 new positive coronavirus cases yesterday and 132 additional deaths across the state.Here in North Texas, Tarrant County confirmed 436 new cases and 3 deaths on Tuesday.Three deaths were also reported in Dallas County along with 190 cases, with only 122 of those cases being new.NEW: Dallas County Reports 122 New Positive 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases and 3 Deaths190 Total Cases Reported Today with 68 from Older Months pic.twitter.com/i3bH2zE3ka— Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) September 15, 2020 In Collin County 130 new cases were confirmed and 3 deaths.Denton County had 96 new cases and no deaths.

September 16, 2020

Microbial Pathogenesis Professor: Wear A Mask!

There's another reason to mask up in public as COVID-19 lingers on. You could have a less severe infection should you become exposed.Texas A&M Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis & Immunology Julian Liebowitz says doing so cuts your chance of getting infected by 50 to 75 percent. If the person you're in the room also wears one it cuts down their ability to transmit by 50 to 75 percent. And should you be exposed, it would be with a much smaller dose. For example, ten percent of viral particles may leak out from a mask wearer as opposed to a full dose from someone not wearing one. It's called a dose response effect. "If you are wearing a mask and it filters out the majority of the virus, you'll get a smaller dose. You are much more likely to get a mild or an asymptomatic disease. But it's not going to be 100 percent effective."He cautions certain populations such as older people or those with underlying health issues still have a high, but not as high chance of getting a severe infection. Liebowitz equates this to playing 21. "If you start out with 20, you have a lot better chance of winning."

September 16, 2020

Keller Fossil Ridge High School Students On Virtual Learning Over COVID-19

Beginning today, Keller Fossil Ridge High School students are on virtual-learning-only for the next two weeks because of the Coronavirus.A dozen people, including ten students and two staff members, have been confirmed positive for the virus.But over 300 students and more than two dozen staffers have been ordered to self-quarantine because they have been in close contact with at least one of the infected people.As of now, students and staff will return to campus on September 30th.

September 16, 2020

New COVID-19 Positive Cases In North Texas Trends Down

Even though the state of Texas is changing the way it calculates a key COVID-19 metric, new cases are still trending lower in North Texas. Texas reported over 2,500 new coronavirus cases yesterday, and 21 deaths.In Dallas County, 440 cases were reported, but 100 of those cases are from earlier this summer.NEW: Dallas County Reports 340 New Positive 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases and 3 Deaths440 Total Cases Reported Today with 100 from Older Months pic.twitter.com/dexD3DDH4A— Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) September 14, 2020 Dallas County also reported 3 additional deaths.Tarrant County reported 273 new cases. 238 new cases were reported in Collin County and 116 in Denton County on Monday.

September 15, 2020

New Coronavirus Cases Detected In Krum Schools

With new cases of Coronavirus announced yesterday, Krum high school and middle school students are reduced to online classes only through September 25th.They will return to campus on Monday the 28th.The district also says all football events, practices and games, have been canceled until the week of the 28th. But Krum High School volleyball, tennis and cross country will continue as scheduled.Homecoming, however, has been rescheduled for October 9th.Furthermore, all Krum Middle School extra-curriculars, including athletics, are canceled during the same time frame.

September 15, 2020

Texas Changes COVID-19 Reporting Method

Texas says the way they report their COVID-19 positivity rate is now more accurate than it was in the past. The positivity rate refers to the percentage of people tested who actually have the virus.Chris Van Deusen with the Texas Department of State Health Services they will now calculate it based on when people were actually tested. Until now, they had been basing this on when positive cases were reported, divided by the number of tests over a seven day period."We saw with some late arriving tests results in early August that that really caused some big swings in the positivity rate when it was calculated that way" said Van Deusen.It will now be calculated based on when people were tested, as opposed to when tests were reported. Earlier this summer, the rate was reported at more than 20 percent. Van Deusen says "We can now see that it was higher than we thought it was at the time, just based on the specimen collection. That seems to be a function of some of these late arriving test results as those were reported out."He says they've beefed up their computer and surveillance system so they can report, verify and validate data much more quickly, which allows them to make these calculations based on when people were actually tested. They have also added labs. The state can now process 100,000 tests a day. Before the number was 48,000 per day.

September 15, 2020

Travelers No Longer Being Funneled Through DFW Airport For Enhanced Health Screening

International travelers will no longer be funneled through DFW International Airport for enhanced COVID-19 health screenings.DFW International Airport in Irving was one of 15 major US airports that had to handle passengers from some countries who were entering or reentering the US.The Centers for Disease Control had imposed the requirements in January which included temperature screening and a questionnaire. And there were headaches at first as long lines overwhelmed US Customs agents.But it turns out the screenings had little use as only 15 cases of COVID-19 were found out of more than 675,000 screenings, according to health officials.Instead the CDC says it will focus on other measures, including a stronger response to reports of illness at airports.

September 14, 2020

North Texas Event Planners Shift Business Plan To Kill Virus

An event planning company based in Carrollton has changed its business plan to try to slow the spread of COVID-19.The company, now called PureBeam, uses ultraviolet light to kill germs on surfaces.Co-founder Michael Bird says his company lost $2 million in business this spring when companies canceled events where he would have provided audio-visual services."It just happened. We were asking, 'What are we going to do?'," he says. "Our company, we do live shows and events. We do lighting, sound, cameras. We do all the technical aspects of production; we've been doing that for years. All of a sudden, we started hearing about things like flight restrictions and postponements."Bird says a relative of his business partner had been installing equipment at hospitals for years and mentioned UVC lighting could kill germs on surfaces."That ultraviolet light kills bacteria, mold, viruses, all that stuff," he says. "It goes in, disrupts the DNA, just scatter-shoots it. It's dead. It can't reproduce."Bird says hospitals have used UVC lights for decades, but they had never been brought to consumers. When his business started dropping, he says he was able to retrofit spotlights and other fixtures to start shining UVC lights to clean homes and offices."We can get our fellow Texans working again. We can help the mom-and-pop operation bring more people to their jujitsu gym or wherever because they know all the mats have been cleaned, and it's residue and chemical free," Bird says.He says offices that have had a worker test positive have called for treatment. He also says he has been hearing from realtors who want a house treated before allowing visitors or closing a sale.PureBeam lights are activated remotely. Bird says the company will place cards in areas being treated to show areas that have disinfected. He says PureBeam can clean a 2,000 square foot house in about an hour. A 2,000 square foot office with cubicles would take longer because of smaller "focus spots" that would need light shined directly on them.Bird says crews place stickers that can identify whether an area has been hit with a UVC ray. He says they can then see if each sticker has reacted, and those that have not would receive another treatment.More information is available at their website.

September 14, 2020

Lower Number Of COVID-19 Cases Encouraging, But Still Has "Disruptive" Impact In North Texas

Despite lower COVID-19 case numbers, local officials say the virus continues to have a "disruptive" impact in North Texas.Dallas County reported 156 new cases and three COVID-19 related deaths on Sunday. An additional 17 cases were reported from pervious months.NEW: Dallas County Reports 139 New Positive 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases and 3 Deaths,156 Total Cases Reported Today with 17 from Older Months pic.twitter.com/AIbM7gBsKV— Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) September 13, 2020 The latest local victims include a Dallas woman in her 50s, a Dallas man in his 50s and a Garland man in his 90s. All had underlying health conditions.Tarrant County confirmed 314 new coronavirus cases and three deaths yesterday.Collin County reports 15 new cases and two additional fatalities.Denton County did not release new information on Sunday.

September 14, 2020

COVID-19 Test Kits Avilable Soon At Grocery Stores

Getting tested for COVID-19 is getting easier, soon you'll be able to pick up a test kit at the local grocery store.Tom Thumb and Albertsons pharmacies across North Texas are now offering at home COVID-19 test kits.You can request one of the take home saliva tests online and then pick it up later at your local store. Officials with Albertsons say the results are typically sent via email or text within 72 hours.Dr. Ben Newman with Texas A&M Texarkana says the take home tests are a big step in the right direction. He says the tests should be accurate and he’s hoping more can become available.Payment for the tests will be out of pocket.

September 10, 2020

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