Health officials in Dallas County on Tuesday reported a record number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 cases along with 2,366 additional cases of the disease and 30 coronavirus-related deaths.
Dallas County Health and Human Services says there were 1,000 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County by Monday -- the highest on record.
The landmark high in hospitalizations comes as the DFW Hospital Council lists hospital capacity as reaching 19.1% in Trauma Service Area E, which encompasses the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.
"At 1,000 patients, we are nearly 200 higher than the record from the July peak," DCHHS said in a press release Tuesday. "Without similar state restrictions in place as we saw in July to bend the curve down, we are alarmed by the growth and potential for even more spread over the holidays. Please follow public health guidance and do not meet outside your household, avoid indoor settings such as restaurants, bars, and malls, and stay home to the fullest extent possible. #StayHomeStaySafe was critical to our success in the spring and summer, with higher numbers today we must commit to that strategy again."
The people listed Tuesday who died after contracting COVID-19 ranged in age from residents in their 50s to 90s. Of the 30, all but seven were listed as having underlying health conditions.
Dallas County has reported 1,514 confirmed deaths related to the coronavirus. About 22% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facilities.
Of the cases reported Tuesday, 2,088 were confirmed and 278 were probable, which means an antigen test confirmed the result. Since March, Dallas County Health and Human Services has reported 158,354 confirmed cases and 18,552 probable cases, or those confirmed by antigen tests.
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According to DCHHS, over the past 30 days, there have been 6,050 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 780 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County, including 686 staff members. Of these cases, 603 have been associated with extracurricular activities, including athletics.
Dallas County's provisional seven-day average of new cases, which uses the date of the test collection, for Week 50 was 1,668 — a rate of 62.9 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. It is the highest case rate in the county since the pandemic began.
Of all confirmed cases requiring hospitalization to date, more than two-thirds have been under 65 years of age. Diabetes has been an underlying high-risk health condition reported in about a third of all hospitalized patients with COVID-19.