Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 10 deaths and a record 1,382 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, Dec 17.  The county reported 1,413 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 150,509.

The county is also reporting a total of 17,103 probable cases.

The additional deaths today include:

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 a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. She died in hospice and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 70’s who was a resident of the Desoto. She was 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 critically ill in an area hospital 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 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 Balch Springs. She had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 80’s 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 80’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 80’s 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 90’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

The city of Sachse has reported 14 COVID-19 cases today, Dec. 17 for both Collin and Dallas County residents of the city. Total cases for the city are now 970. Dallas County cases include a 52-year-old female and a 7, 15, 27, 45, 60 and 63-year-old male. Collin County cases include a 3 and 12-year-old female and a 7, 21, 22, 41 and 58-year-old male.

The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 49 has increased to 1,647, which is a rate of 62.5 daily new cases per 100,000 residents—the highest case rate in Dallas County since the beginning of the pandemic. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 has increased, with 21.6% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 49 (week ending 12/5/20).

Over the past 30 days there have been 4,520 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from over 735 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County, including 681 staff members. Of these cases, 534 have been associated with extracurricular activities, including athletics.

There are currently 93 active long-term care facility outbreaks. Over the past 30 days, a total of 848 COVID-19 cases have been reported from these facilities, including 317 staff members. Of these cases 32 have been hospitalized, and 33 have died, including 2 deaths of staff members. Twenty-six outbreaks of COVID-19 in congregate-living facilities (e.g. homeless shelters, group homes, and halfway homes) have been reported in the past 30 days associated with 165 cases, including 6 hospitalizations. One facility has reported 89 confirmed COVID-19 cases since October.

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. Of the total confirmed deaths reported to date, about 22% have been associated with long-term care facilities. New cases are being reported as a daily aggregate.

Local health experts use hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and ER visits as three of the key indicators as part of determining the COVID-19 Risk Level (color-coded risk) and corresponding guidelines for activities during our COVID-19 response. There were 821 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Wednesday, December 16. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 524 for the same time-period, which represents around 22 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council.

“Today we report an additional 1,382 cases and ten new deaths. As the holidays approach, now is the time to remember the adage ‘an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure.’ Thinking ahead on your holiday needs, whether it’s groceries or gifts, and ordering those online now so they’ll arrive on time, or ordering them for curbside pick-up, will lead to less crowds and less spread.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel with vaccinations happening and thousands of our healthcare heroes have received their vaccination. By the end of this month, we expect hundreds of thousands of North Texas’ healthcare heroes and nursing home residents to have received their first shot but that great news should not be taken as an excuse to disregard doctors’ advice to wear a mask, avoid crowds, and forgo get togethers. Now is a time that we all must make small sacrifices to keep our community and our country strong at this time of unprecedented high spread and while we await the herd immunity that will come from the vast majority of the population being inoculated.

I am so thankful for the people of North Texas. You have showed courage in rising to the challenge time and time again this year. You did it at Thanksgiving and you’re doing it now once again. Remember, please don’t focus on what your neighbor is doing that you believe is unsafe, rather focus on what incremental actions that you and those in your sphere of influence can take to keep yourself, and our community and country just a little bit safer,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]