For the second week in a row, data from North Texas’ Tarrant County shows the death rate from the Chinese coronavirus continues to fall and recoveries are still far exceeding deaths. The City of Colleyville— which is refusing to enforce a mask mandate from the Tarrant County Commissioners Court—has reported zero deaths.
Last week, Tarrant County’s public health director, Dr. Vinny Taneja, reported that deaths from the Chinese coronavirus were “trending down.” He also reported recoveries far exceeded deaths and that the younger population showed a resilience to the disease.
He maintained that those over 65 years old or those with underlying conditions were at “high risk.”
This week, county data showed the death rate not only continues to trend downward but is relatively flat when compared to the rise in cases.
This graph concurs with Taneja’s report that the vast majority of those who have died had underlying health conditions. And of these deaths, the vast majority are individuals over 65.
The data also shows that more men have died from the virus than women.
Again, the number of recoveries continues to greatly exceed deaths. Last week, it was reported that of the entire county population of over 2 million, 211 had tragically died from the virus, while 4,513 recoveries have been reported.
This week, those numbers stand at 225 deaths and 5,059 recoveries.
Richard Hill of Tarrant County Public Health told Texas Scorecard that even though the law doesn’t require the county to report recoveries from the virus, they’ve chosen to do so.
“The fact is that most of the people who get COVID-19 will recover.”
Despite these encouraging numbers, County Judge Glen Whitley—spokesman for the Tarrant County Commissioners Court—issued an order last week imposing a $1,000 fine on businesses that do not require customers and employees to wear masks in their establishment.
The City of Colleyville, however, announced they will not be enforcing the order.
“The government can’t protect us; we must protect ourselves by following the safety guidelines that have been recommended,” Mayor Richard Newton said.
To date, Colleyville has zero reported deaths and 32 reported recoveries from the virus.
In Fort Worth, 127 have died from the virus, while 2,569 have recovered.
Fort Worth has the highest death toll, with Arlington having the second-highest at 31 with 1,022 recoveries.
In Keller, there have been 17 deaths and 54 recoveries.
Burleson has zero deaths and 6 recoveries out of 14 positive cases.
The mayors of Fort Worth, Arlington, and Burleson were present when Whitley announced the new order.
In all cities, recoveries far outweigh deaths.
David McClelland, chief of staff for Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, told Texas Scorecard that enforcing Tarrant commissioners’ mask mandate is “a low priority for us because it’s not going to affect the majority of what we do.”
Sources have also told Texas Scorecard that law enforcement officers are refusing to enforce the mandate, and justices of the peace will not uphold fines brought by the county against businesses that violate the mandate.
An even stricter mask mandate was expected this week from the commissioners court.
Grassroots leaders are calling for concerned Tarrant residents to contact their commissioner.
