Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 26 deaths and 458 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 5. The county has reported 3,097 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 247,026.

The county is also reporting a total of 36,289 probable COVID cases.

Dallas County Health and Human Services is providing initial vaccinations to those most at risk of exposure to COVID-19. Since starting vaccinations, 122,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered at the Fair Park mega-vaccine clinic, which started operations on Monday, January 11. The county is administering both second and first doses this week. The Community Vaccination Center at Fair Park will continue to provide first doses of the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines on Friday and Saturday by invite and appointment only.

The additional deaths reported include:

A man in his 30’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 40’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. 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 expired in an area hospital Emergency Department and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 50’s who was a resident of the City of Duncanville. He had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 60’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 60’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He expired in hospice care.

A man in his 60’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 60’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 60’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Garland. He 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 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 Garland. 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 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 had been hospitalized 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 Desoto. She expired in the facility and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 70’s who was a resident of the City of Garland. She 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 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 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 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 Desoto. 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 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 Garland. He had been hospitalized and did not have underlying 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 the City of Irving. He had been critically ill in an area hospital 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 Richardson. 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 Mesquite. He expired in the facility and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 100’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.

The city of Sachse has reported its 2,109 COVID-19 cases through today, March 5. The latest Dallas County case includes a 45-year-old female. Today’s Collin County cases include a 22-year-old female and a 9, 20 and 49-year-old male.

Nine cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 have been identified in residents of Dallas County. One was hospitalized and five had history of recent domestic travel outside of Texas. Of the five newly reported cases this week, 2 are residents of the City of Dallas, 2 are residents of the City of Garland and 1 is a resident of the City of Sachse. The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 7 was 230, which is a rate of 8.7 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. Case reporting for this week ending 2/20/21 was likely significantly impacted by reduced testing due to the severe weather conditions in Texas. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 16.0% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 7 (week ending 2/20/21).

During the past 30 days, there were 2,668 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 553 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County. An additional death of a teacher in a K-12 school from COVID-19 was confirmed this past week. A total of 466 children in Dallas County under 18 years of age have been hospitalized since the beginning of the pandemic, including 37 patients diagnosed with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children (MIS-C). Over 80% of reported MIS-C cases in Dallas have occurred in children who are Hispanic or Latino or Black.

There are currently 65 active long-term care facility outbreaks. Accumulative total of 4,216 residents and 2,330 healthcare workers in long-term facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 961 have been hospitalized and 616 have died. About 22% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facilities. Eleven 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 397 residents and 198 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 382 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Thursday, March 4. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 376 for the same time-period, which represents around 15 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council. While these numbers have declined since peak highs after the winter holidays, these are still much higher than the lows we experienced over the summer and represent a substantial and ongoing impact on our hospitals.

Updated UTSW forecasting indicates hospitalizations between 270-480 by March 12th and daily case counts of around 500. They also predict an increasing number of patients in the ICU illustrating the ongoing severity of this disease. Please continue masking, distancing, and other protective measures, as these remain critically important even if you have received COVID-19 vaccination.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]