Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 24 deaths and 2,817 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 for Jan 15.  The county reported 1,853 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 203,897.

The county is also reporting a total of 26,542 probable COVID cases.

The additional deaths reported include:

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.

The city of Sachse has reported 1,559 COVID-19 cases, including 20 today. New cases for the city of Sachse include, in Dallas County, a 12, 17, 18, 21, and 36-year-old female, as well as 9, 18, 21, 47, 49, 50 and 65-year-old male. Collin County residents include a 9, 19 and 72-year-old female and a 9, 34, 45 54 and 60-year-old male.

The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 53 was to 2,227, which is a rate of 84.5 daily new cases per 100,000 residents, the highest case rate during this pandemic.  The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 31.0% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 53 (week ending 1/2/21). Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 3,864 healthcare workers and first responders have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Dallas County.

Over the past 30 days, there have been 7,310 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 674 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County, with 1,842 of these cases reported during the last week of December.  Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 41 cases of COVID-19 have been reported among school nurses and nurse assistants. About half of these have been diagnosed within the past week.

There are currently 109 active long-term care facility outbreaks. This is the highest number of long-term care facilities with active outbreaks reported in Dallas County since the beginning of the pandemic. This year, a total of 3,286 residents and 1,871 healthcare workers in long-term facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 709 have been hospitalized and 378 have died. About 22% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facilities. Thirty-four 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 84 cases.

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. New cases are being reported as a daily aggregate, with more detailed summary reports updated Tuesday and Friday evenings are available at: https://www.dallascounty.org/departments/dchhs/2019-novel-coronavirus/daily-updates.php

Local health experts are using 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 1,140 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Thursday, January 14. The number of emergency room visits for COVID 19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 518 for the same time-period, which represents around 21 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council. This is another record high for hospitalizations. We are concerned we have not yet seen the full impact of the holiday surge. UTSW modeling predicts hospitalization could reach 1,176 – 1,700 by January 26, with cases as high as 3,300/day by the same date. Their model also indicates an increase in ICU utilization, which is concerning as capacity is extremely limited at current demand.

“Today we announce 2,817 cases and 24 additional deaths, ranging in ages from three men in their 40’s to an individual in their 100’s. Things are going well at our vaccination locations and thousands of people were vaccinated each day this week. Saturday’s vaccinations at Fair Park will be done by appointment only and we ask that everyone register at either www.dallascounty.org or by calling our hotline at 469-749-9900. Now more than ever it’s important to avoid crowds, wear our mask, wash our hands regularly, and forgo get-togethers while signing up to take the vaccine and getting our vaccine as soon as your group is reached and eligible.

Thank you for the patience and grace that you have shown to all of us who are working to battle COVID. It is appreciated. We will turn the tide in the battle against COVID this year by all of us making good decisions and following the doctors’ advice to keep ourselves and our community safe,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]