Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 50 deaths and 266 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 18. This is the highest daily number of reported deaths since the start of the pandemic. The county has reported 2,751 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 240,094.

The county is also reporting a total of 33,955 probable COVID cases.

Dallas County Health and Human Services is providing initial vaccinations to those most at risk of exposure to COVID-19. As of yesterday, 43,823 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered at the Fair Park mega-vaccine clinic, which started operations on Monday, January 11. Operations at Fair Park have been suspended through February 20.

The additional deaths reported include:

A man in his 20’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 20’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 30’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. She had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 40’s who was a resident of the City of Mesquite. He expired at home and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 40’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 40’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 50’s who was a resident of the City of Garland. 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 Grand Prairie. He had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 50’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Garland. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and did not have underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 50’s who was a resident of the City of Lancaster. 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 expired at home and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 50’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He expired at home and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 50’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He expired at home 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 50’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 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 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 60’s who was a resident of the City of Desoto. He expired in hospice 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 hospice 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 hospice 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 Grand Prairie. She had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 60’s who was a resident of the City of Lancaster. He expired at home and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 60’s who was a resident of the City of Richardson. He 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 a facility and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 60’s who was a resident of the City of Irving. He expired at home and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 70’s who was a resident of the City of Desoto. He expired at home 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 man in his 70’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Irving. 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 Garland. She expired at home and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 70’s who was a resident of the City of Grand Prairie. She expired at home 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 80’s who was a resident of the City of Grand Prairie. He 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 hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 80’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 80’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Garland. He expired in a facility and had did not have 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 expired in the facility and did not have 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 expired in hospice 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 expired in hospice and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 80’s who was a resident of the City of Grand Prairie. He expired at home 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 Irving. She expired in a facility and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 80’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She had been hospitalized and did not have underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 90’s who was a resident of the City of Lancaster. She had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 90’s who was a resident of the City of Coppell. She expired at home and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 90’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. She expired in the facility and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 90’s who was a resident of the City of Grand Prairie. He expired at home and had underlying high risk health conditions.

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

A woman in her 90’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. She expired in the facility 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 Lancaster. He expired in hospice and had underlying high risk health conditions.

The city of Sachse has reported 2,031 COVID-19 cases through this morning, Feb 19. Residents of Sachse in Dallas County were a 2, 15, 17, 19, 28, 29, 38, 42, 48, 48, 49, 49, 50, 52, 54, 57, 60, 63 and 63-year-old female and a 17, 18, 21, 43, 45, 48, 49, 55 and 72-year-old male. Residents of Sachse in Collin County were a 24, 25, 27, 44, 45, 52, 58 and 58-year-old female and a 15, 27, 35 and 42-year-old male.

Four cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 have been identified in residents of Dallas County who did not have recent travel outside of the US. The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 5 was 990, which is a rate of 37.6 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 21.1% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 2 (week ending 2/6/21).

During the past 30 days, there were 7,012 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 713 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County.

There are currently 90 active long-term care facility outbreaks. Accumulative total of 4,155 residents and 2,315 healthcare workers in long-term facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 921 have been hospitalized and 555 have died. About 22% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facilities. Fourteen 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. A cumulative total of 385 residents and 194 staff members in these types of facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

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 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 596 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Wednesday, February 17. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 373 for the same time period, which represents around 20 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council.

The last updated modeling from UTSW shows hospitalizations between 440-730 by February 23. County officials are encouraged by these decreases, but COVID hospitalizations are still having a substantial impact on our health care systems. Officials are also concerned about the variants and ongoing community spread and are encouraging masking, distancing and other protective measures if you are leaving your home.

“Today, we announce 266 new cases and 50 new deaths from COVID-19, tying our record for our deadliest day thus far in this pandemic. Included in the deaths are two men in their 20’s and a man in his 30’s.

At times like these, it can seem that there is no good news. We have seen a decline in the amount of new COVID-19 infections and most of our people do have their power on again. As the warmer weather increases and pipes thaw, we will see plumbing emergencies in many of our homes. You should work with a plumber and your insurance company now to prepare if you have frozen pipes that are already known in your home. Most of these problems will be covered by insurance. Additionally, the White House is working to open an individual assistance program through FEMA.

These last few days have been about survival and I know many of us have been forced to be in close quarters with people that we are not normally around. The rules still apply to protect yourself from COVID-19: wear a mask, maintain distance, avoid crowds and forgo get-togethers. Vaccine operations will resume on Sunday with us only seeing the people who need a second shot who have waited the longest for their second shot. We will catch up on second shots throughout this next week. You need not worry. If you are due a second shot, you will receive one. We will resume first shots when the throughput for second shots is sufficient to ensure the second shots are given timely.

Stay strong. Help one another. Focus on the good things. There are blessings around us even in the toughest of times. Gratitude for your blessings will help see you through these difficult times. I am very proud of the way the people of North Texas have come together during this crisis and I am pleased that the Governor has said that he will authorize the weatherization of the generation system and the fixing of the antiquated gas pipeline. We must now all rise together and ensure that the legislature and the Governor follow through on this promise so the weather-related outages that we have just experienced never happen again. God bless you and stay safe,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]