coronavirus

Record COVID-19 Hospitalizations in Dallas County as 2,794 New Cases, 20 Deaths Reported

Dallas County adds 15,123 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in the last seven days

Dallas County is reporting a record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations Tuesday while adding another 2,794 new confirmed and probable cases of the virus and 20 more deaths.

Officials in the county said there were 1,113 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County through Monday and that there were another 534 people with COVID-19 symptoms who visited county emergency rooms on the same day.

The increase in hospitalizations following the recent holiday weekends has county leaders concerned about further increases in cases and hospitalizations.

“Today we report record high hospitalizations, near-record high case numbers and 20 additional deaths. By Jan. 11, UT Southwestern modelers had predicted we would reach 2,300 new cases a day and have between 860-1350 COVID hospitalizations. Today we have 1,113 COVID hospitalizations and almost 2,800 cases," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. "Sadly, we have met or surpassed those predictions. We as individuals control these numbers and our actions drive them up or down. Please follow the recommendations to limit all non-essential activity."

In a statement Tuesday, Dallas County asked those who gathered over the holiday, especially in crowded indoor settings, even with no confirmed COVID exposure, to please take all precautions to reduce spread by staying home, masking if leaving for essential activities, monitoring for symptoms, getting tested, and especially staying away from vulnerable or elderly family members and friends until they are sure they aren't infected. You can find additional information on risk-level monitoring data here.

Of the 2,794 cases reported Tuesday, the county said 2,563 were confirmed cases and 231 were probable (antigen test) cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the county from March to 182,157 and the number of probable (antigen test) cases to 22,218. The total of confirmed and probable cases in the county is now at 204,375. Over the last seven days, Dallas County officials have reported 15,123 new confirmed and probable cases of the virus for an average of 2,160 per day.

County officials said Tuesday there have been 1,698 deaths in the county attributed to the virus since March 2020. The 20 latest victims include two people who died in emergency rooms and three others who were residents of long-term care facilities. The 20 victims are:

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

While Collin and Tarrant counties have begun offering COVID-19 vaccines to those in Phase 1B, Dallas County said they are still working to administer vaccines to those in Phase 1A .

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.

"As vaccine production and distribution ramps up, we anticipate more supply arriving into Texas and locally, but caution that as of right now, supply is limited and we continue to work through the priority phases as set by DSHS," Jenkins said.

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.

The county said that the provisional 7-day average for new confirmed and probable cases by date of a test collection for CDC week 51 was 1,787, which represents a rate of 67.8 daily new cases per 100,000 residents.

In the last 30 days, there have been 5,971 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from more than 756 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County, including 569 staff members. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 21 school nurses have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

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