Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 12 deaths and 509 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 29. The county has reported 3,497 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 251,790.

The county is also reporting a total of 38,827 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, 244,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered at the Fair Park mega-vaccine clinic, which started operations on Monday, January 11.  According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, as of March 28, 42% of individuals 65 and older are fully vaccinated in Dallas County.

The additional deaths reported include:

A man in his 40’s who was a resident of the City of Mesquite. 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 woman in her 60’s who was a resident of the City of Cedar Hill. She expired 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 man in his 70’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and did not have underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 70’s who was a resident of the City of Balch Springs. 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 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 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 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 Duncanville. 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 Dallas. She had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

The city of Sachse has last reported 2,153 COVID-19 cases through, March 25.

To date, a total of 19 cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7; two cases of B.1.429 variants; and one case of a B.1.526 variant have been identified in residents of Dallas County. Two have been hospitalized and five had history of recent domestic travel outside of Texas. One case of B.1.1.7 is a likely instance of reinfection with COVID-19, occurring over 6 months after an initial PCR-confirmed infection.

The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 11 was 157, which is a rate of 6.0 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, and with 7.8% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 11 (week ending 3/20/21).

An outbreak of over 50 cases of COVID-19 has been reported this past week among high school students who attended a dance and dinner on March 13th. During the past 30 days, there were 1,351 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 415 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County. There are currently 27 active long-term care facility outbreaks.

A cumulative total of 4,276 residents and 2,375 healthcare workers in long-term facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 1,010 have been hospitalized and 678 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 432 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.

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.

UTSW forecasting reflects a leveling within their model with hospitalizations between 140-270 and daily case counts of 480 by April 8th.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]