Collin County is reporting COVID-19 hospitalizations in county hospitals are at 14% Friday as the Texas Department of State Health Services reports an additional 661 new confirmed cases of the virus along with a single-day record of 11 deaths.
According to the most recent data from the DSHS, Collin County has 35,482 confirmed cases of the virus since March with 31,533 estimated recoveries through Friday; the county has an estimated 3,627 active cases with 322 deaths attributed to the virus since March.
The state does not reveal specific information about those who have died of the virus.
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The state also added an estimated 238 probable new cases of the virus on Friday, for a total of 3,645 probable infections.
Collin County Health Care Services, which in August expressed concern over the accuracy of data being provided by the state health department, discontinued publishing information about case counts, recoveries and deaths in November following a vote of the Collin County Commissioners Court and only publishes information regarding hospitalizations.
In a statement on their website, the county said, "Collin County will continue to report hospitalization data, as that information comes from daily polls of local hospitals reporting COVID-19 patients in their facilities."
As of Dec. 18, CCHCS reported 389 out of 2,702 beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients in Collin County hospitals, which represents 14.4% of all hospitalized patients.
Stephen Love with the DFW Hospital Council told NBC 5 Friday that in Trauma Service Area E there were 2,946 COVID-19 patients in area hospitals, up 87 from the day before. While the number can fluctuate, Love said Friday afternoon there were 11 available ICU beds in Dallas County, six in Collin County, 20 in Tarrant County and five in Denton County.
Love added that, of patients in TSA-E ICUs, COVID-19 patients make up 41% of patients.
"This is very serious and with the upcoming holidays, we need everyone to please wear masks and stay out of crowds! We need your help!" Love said.
