Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 20 deaths and 190 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 18. The county has reported 3,350 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 250,149.

The county is also reporting a total of 37,492 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, 180,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered at the Fair Park mega-vaccine clinic, which started operations on Monday, January 11.

Vaccine operations for both first and second doses at Fair Park will continue through Saturday.

The additional deaths reported include:

A man in his 40’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 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 Irving. 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 Farmers Branch. 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 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 Dallas. He was found deceased at home 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 had been hospitalized 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 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 70’s who was a resident of the City of Balch Springs. She expired in hospice care 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 did not have 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 woman in her 70’s who was a resident of the City of Richardson. She had been critically ill in an area hospital 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 had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 80’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 80’s who was a resident of the City of Desoto. 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 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 Dallas. He had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

The city of Sachse has reported 2,140 COVID-19 cases through, March 18. New Dallas County cases include a 21-year-old female. New Collin County cases include a 40-year-old female and a 7-year-old boy.

Three additional cases of SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 have been identified in residents of Dallas County. To date, a total of 14 cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 and one case of a B.1.526 variant 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 9 was 291, which is a rate of 11.0 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 9.9% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 9 (week ending 3/6/21).

During the past 30 days, there were 1,297 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 425 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County. There are currently 25 active long-term care facility outbreaks. A cumulative total of 4,255 residents and 2,359 healthcare workers in long-term facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 1,002 have been hospitalized and 656 have died. About 22% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facilities. Thirteen 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 429 residents and 207 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 as part of determining the COVID-19 Risk Level (color-coded risk) and corresponding guidelines for activities during our COVID-19 response. There were 226 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Wednesday, March 17. The number of emergency room visits for COVID 19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 331 for the same time-period, which represents around 13 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council. Please be mindful of following CDC travel guidance (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html) over spring break and spring holidays. We remain concerned for additional waves due to a potential rise in variants and because community spread remains high creating an environment for cases to reignite, especially if compliance with personal actions such as masking and distancing decline.

Officials encourage everyone to follow public health guidance, continue masking and avoid crowded and non-essential indoor settings. Updated UTSW forecasting indicates hospitalizations between 150-250 and daily case counts of 460 by April 1.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]