Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 21 deaths and 557 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 10. The county has reported 3,201 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 248,495.

The county is also reporting a total of 36,837 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, 141,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered at the Fair Park mega-vaccine clinic, which started operations on Monday, January 11.

At Fair Park, first doses through the Community Vaccination Center and second doses through DCHHS will continue this week.

The additional deaths reported include:

A man in his 50’s who was a resident of the City of Garland. He had been critically ill 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 woman in her 50’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 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 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 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 Combine. 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 Mesquite. 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 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 Garland. 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 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 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 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 hospitalized 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 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 the City of Garland. 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 Sunnyvale. She 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 a long-term care facility in the City of Farmers Branch. He expired in hospice care and had underlying high risk health conditions.

The city of Sachse has reported 2,120 COVID-19 cases through March 9. No new case information was released today.

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. The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 8 was 457, which is a rate of 17.3 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 12.1% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 8 (week ending 2/27/21).

During the past 30 days, there were 1,714 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 504 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County. An additional death of a teacher’s assistant in a Dallas County K-12 school from COVID-19 was confirmed this past week.

There are currently 43 active long-term care facility outbreaks. A cumulative total of 4,225 residents and 2,332 healthcare workers in long-term facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 969 have been hospitalized and 624 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 402 residents and 203 staff members in congregate-living 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 in determining the COVID-19 Risk Level (color-coded risk) and corresponding guidelines for activities during our COVID-19 response. There were 303 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Tuesday, March 9. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 388 for the same time-period, which represents around 14 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 substantially since peak highs after the winter holidays, officials think the numbers still represent a substantial impact on health care facilities.

County officials encourage everyone to follow public health guidance, continue masking and avoid crowded and non-essential indoor settings. Updated UTSW forecasting indicates hospitalizations between 130-220 and daily case counts between 240-500 by March 25th.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]