Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 30 deaths and 2,512 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, Dec 23.  The county reported 1,544 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 160,189.

The county is also reporting a total of 19,229 probable cases.

The additional deaths today include:

A man in his 20’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He expired in a vacant residence.

A woman in her 40’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 man in his 50’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 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 man in his 50’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 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 man in his 60’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He expired in an area hospital ED 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 man in his 60’s who was a resident of the City of Grand Prairie. He 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 Balch Springs. 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 Mesquite. She 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 Grand Prairie. 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 Grand Prairie. She 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 Richardson. He expired in the facility and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 70’s who was a resident of the City of Cedar Hill. 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 expired in hospice 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 did not have underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 70’s who was a resident of ther City of Garland. He had been hospitalized.

A man in his 70’s who was a resident of the City of Sunnyvale. 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 expired in hospice and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 70’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 man in his 70’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 70’s who was a resident of the City of Garland. He expired in an area hospital ED and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 70’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. She expired in hospice and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 70’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Garland. She expired in the facility.

A man in his 80’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 80’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 80’s who was a resident of the City of Grand Prairie. He had been critically ill in an area hospital.

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 did not have underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 100’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility the City of Garland. She had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

The city of Sachse has reported 1,044 COVID-19 cases as of today, Dec. 23 for both Collin and Dallas County residents of the city. Today cases for Dallas County include a 23 and 47-year-old female and an 11, 20, 47, 50, 51, 58 and 69-year-old male. New Collin County cases include an 18 and 49-year-old female and an 18, 24 and 75-year-old male.

The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 50 was to 1,668, which is a rate of 65.3 daily new cases per 100,000 residents.

The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 50 was to 1,722, which is a rate of 62.9 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 23.3% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 50 (week ending 12/12/20).

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 3,864 healthcare workers and first responders have been reported with COVID-19 in Dallas County. Over the past 30 days, there have been 4,955 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 764 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County, including 692 staff members. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 21 school nurses have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

There are currently 100 active long-term care facility outbreaks. Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 2,696 residents and 1,590 healthcare workers in long-term facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 640 have been hospitalized and 323 have died. About 22% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facilities. Thirty-nine 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 172 cases, including 6 hospitalizations. One facility has reported 93 COVID-19 outbreak cases since October.

Due to the observance of the Christmas holiday, Dallas County will not be releasing COVID-19 data on Thursday, December 24 or Friday, December 25. Reporting will resume Saturday, December 26. Saturday’s reporting will include data processed Wednesday evening and Sunday’s reporting will include data from Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

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 972 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Tuesday, December 22. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 562 for the same time-period, which represents around 21 percent of all emergency department visits in the county. At a 1,000 patients, we are nearly 200 higher than the record from the July peak.

The projections from UTSW show Dallas County with hospitalizations as high as 1,500 by January 5. Without similar state restrictions in place as we saw in the spring and summer 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.

On December 3, Trauma Service Area E (TSA E), which includes Dallas County and the greater Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, reached seven consecutive days where the percentage of COVID-19 confirmed patients in regional hospitals, as a percentage of available hospital beds, exceeded 15 percent. According to Governor Abbott’s Executive Order GA-32 (GA-32), this makes TSA E an area with high hospitalizations and certain occupancy reductions are automatically triggered by reaching this threshold.

“Today we have 2,512 new COVID-19 cases, a new record high for Dallas County. We also have 30 deaths ranging from a man in his 20’s who was found dead, to a women in her 100’s who had been hospitalized. The latest COVID predictions from UTSW, show a sharp increase in cases per day and hospitalizations. Up to 2,700 cases per day and 1500 hospitalizations by January 5th. Whether we reach these record highs is entirely up to the personal decisions we all make in the next few days. As of this morning, we had 17 remaining ICU beds in Dallas County, the worst we’ve seen so far. If we reach the predicted worse case scenarios, we will clearly surpass our capacity. While hospitals can add beds, we do not have the ability to easily add physicians, nurses, and other clinical staff. Health care heroes will be asked to take on higher numbers of patients, and staff not normally worked in COVID units or ICU may be asked to provide this level of care. For the good of the community and the country, we ask that everyone make the sacrifices needed to curtail this spread, wearing masks in all indoor settings, shopping curbside and for delivery, avoiding getting together with individuals outside your household. Now is a time for patriotism as we battle a determined and relentless foe that is killing North Texans in record numbers. The virus doesn’t care it’s the holidays and that we are tired and want to spend time with family. We must not give up on the proven ways of keeping ourselves safe and our community strong. I know this holiday is different, as this year has been different, but I am so thankful for the courage the people of North Texas have shown thus far and the spirit of sacrifice and community. I wish you and yours a very special holiday. I hope you will find joy and rest over the holidays, while keeping to the public health and CDC guidance,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]