Dallas County Reports 2,817 COVID-19 Cases, 24 More Deaths Friday; Fewer ICU Beds Available

Dallas County is reporting 2,817 COVID-19 cases Friday along with 24 more deaths and fewer than two dozen ICU beds available in the entire county.

The county also reported 1,140 COVID-19 patients who were in county hospitals through Thursday night. They also reported 518 ER visits Thursday for people with COVID-19 symptoms. On Thursday, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted there were 20 adult ICU beds available as of Jan. 13. On Friday, he tweeted there were 18 available as of Jan. 14.

"We remain close to record highs and concerned about capacity in the upcoming weeks. Updated UTSW modeling predicts hospitalization could reach 1,076 – 1,700 by Jan. 26, with cases as high as 3,300 per day by the same date, an increase over previous predictions," Jenkins said in a statement Friday.

Of the cases reported Friday, the county said 2,153 were confirmed cases and 664 were probable (antigen test) cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the county from March 2020 to 203,897 and the number of probable (antigen test) cases to 26,542. The total of confirmed and probable cases in the county is now at 230,439. Over the last seven days, Dallas County officials have reported 18,660 new confirmed and probable cases of the virus for an average of 2,666 per day.

County officials said Friday there have been 1,853 deaths in the county attributed to the virus since March 2020. The 24 victims announced Friday included three men in their 40s and a man in his 100s.

• A man in his 40's who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He had been hospitalized and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A man in his 40's who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He had been critically ill and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A man in his 40's who was a resident of the City of Mesquite. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A man in his 50's who was a resident of the City of Balch Springs. He had been critically ill and did not have underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A man in his 50's who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Mesquite. He had been hospitalized in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A woman in her 50's who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk conditions.
• A woman in her 50's who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Irving. She had been hospitalized and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A woman in her 50's who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A woman in her 60's who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Mesquite. She had been hospitalized in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A woman in her 60's who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A woman in her 60's who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She expired in an area hospital ED and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A man in his 70's who was a resident of the City of Garland. He had been hospitalized and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A woman in her 70's who was a resident of the city of Dallas. She expired at home and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A man in his 70's who was a resident of the City of Garland. He had been hospitalized and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A man in his 70's who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. He had been hospitalized and did not have underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A man in his 70's who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Mesquite. He had been hospitalized in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A man in his 70's who was a resident of the City of Mesquite. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A woman in her 70's who was a resident of the City of Mesquite. She had been hospitalized in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk conditions.
• A man in his 70's who was a resident of the City of Irving. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A man in his 70's who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He had been hospitalized in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A woman in her 80's who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Mesquite. She had been hospitalized in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A woman in her 80's who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. She had expired in an area hospital ED.
• A man in his 80's who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He expired in hospice and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
• A man in his 100's who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Mesquite. He expired in hospice and had underlying high-risk health conditions.

COVID-19 VACCINE EFFORTS

In partnership with the state health department, Dallas County opened a large-scale vaccine hub at Fair Park on Monday where they planned to administer up to 2,000 vaccines per day for those in Phase 1A and 1B. The vaccination center does not accept walk-ups and you must have an appointment to get vaccinated. Register for an appointment at the link below. The county is also planning on providing vaccines at two other locations in the county where they can administer an additional 1,000 vaccines per day.

Want to Get on a Vaccine Waitlist?

County health departments have launched waitlists for adults 16 years old and over.

You can register to recieve the vaccination in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Links are below:

Waitlist Links: Collin - Search Waitlist | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant

You do not need to be a resident of the county to register for a COVID-19 vaccine in that county -- registration is open to anyone in Texas. For those without internet access, Tarrant County is also taking registrations by phone at 817-248-6299. In Dallas County, call the DCHHS vaccine hotline at 1-855-IMMUNE9 (1-855-466-8639). In Denton County, call 940-349-2585.

For a more detailed breakdown of who is included in each priority group in Texas, see this page from the Texas DSHS.

The vaccine is currently only being administered to those who are part of Phase 1A and 1B, as outlined by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Those in Phase 1A are front-line healthcare workers or residents of long-term care facilities. Phase 1B includes those who are over the age of 65, or those over the age of 16 with a chronic medical condition that puts them at risk for severe illness.

Once vaccinated, people are expected to get some level of protection within a couple of weeks after the first shot, but full protection may not happen until a couple of weeks after the second shot. Even when fully vaccinated, it's still possible to become infected by the virus since the vaccine does not offer 100% protection.