FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Richard Hill
Senior Public Information Officer
Tarrant County Public Health
817-321-5306 direct
817-401-5967 cell
rwhill2@tarrantcounty.com
March 17, 2020 (Tarrant County, TX) – Tarrant County Public Health (TCPH) today confirmed that a senior adult who died on Sunday, March 15 has tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. The person was a resident of the Texas Masonic Retirement Center in Arlington.
Information about the person’s residence is being released because the facility provides housing to retired persons and senior citizens who are most vulnerable to the effects of severe illnesses. Tarrant County teams will work closely with the Retirement Center administration to assess the other residents and staff.
Tarrant County is investigating for the possible source of the infection and determining who the patient may have come into contact with while he was ill, so that any close contacts can be appropriately isolated, monitored for symptoms and tested as needed.
“On behalf of Tarrant County Public Health, I want to express our deepest sympathy to the family of this person,” said Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja. Taneja declined to provide further details about the patient, citing HIPAA laws regarding confidentiality of health information.
COVID-19 causes respiratory illness with cough, fever, and shortness of breath, and may lead to bronchitis and severe pneumonia. United States has now over 4600 reported cases of COVID-19.
“We want residents of Tarrant County to continue to be mindful of basic preventive measures to protect themselves from COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses,” Taneja said. These include:
The City of Arlington’s Public Health Authority is working closely with Tarrant County as well as state and federal health authorities to monitor and respond to this evolving situation. “We are taking proactive measures and utilizing every resource available to us to help protect public health and prevent the spread of this disease in our community,” said Dr. Cynthia A. Simmons, Arlington’s public health authority.
COVID-19 has now spread to more than 100 countries.
For more information, visit coronavirus.tarrantcounty.com, or www.arlingtontx.gov/coronavirus or call Tarrant County Public Health: 817-248-6299 during business hours.
County Telephone Operator 817-884-1111
Tarrant County provides the information contained in this web site as a public service. Every effort is made to ensure that information provided is correct. However, in any case where legal reliance on information contained in these pages is required, the official records of Tarrant County should be consulted. Tarrant County is not responsible for the content of, nor endorses any site which has a link from the Tarrant County web site.
100 E. Weatherford, Fort Worth, Texas 76196
Copyright 2001-2025 Tarrant County, TX