Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 17 deaths and 2,427 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 for Jan 6.  The county reported 1,715 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 183,974.

The county is also reporting a total of 22,828 probable COVID cases.

The additional deaths include:

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 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 had been hospitalized 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 critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 60’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the city of Cedar Hill. 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 Garland. She expired in an area hospital ED 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 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 80’s who was a resident of the city of Dallas. He expired in an area hospital ED 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 critically ill in an area hospital 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.

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 no 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 hospitalized 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 hospitalized and had no 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.

The city of Sachse has reported 1,318 COVID-19 cases through today, including 45 new cases for both Collin and Dallas County residents of the city. New cases in the Dallas County portion of Sachse include a 17, 17, 25, 31, 49, 51, 51, 56, 60, 63, 64, 74 and 78-year-old female and an infant, 5, 13, 25, 29, 32, 36, 44, 44, 45, 48, 49, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 54, 67, 67 and 68-year-old male. New cases in the Collin County part of Sachse include a 72, 79 and 81-year old female and a 11, 17, 21, 37, 48 and 68-year-old male.

The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 52 was to 1,637, which is a rate of 67.8 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 27.2% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 52 (week ending 12/26/20). Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 3,864 healthcare workers and first responders have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Dallas County.

Over the past 30 days, there have been 5,309 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 677 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County, including 454 staff members.

There are currently 106 active long-term care facility outbreaks. This is the highest number of long-term care facilities with active outbreaks reported in Dallas County since the beginning of the pandemic. This year, a total of 3,201 residents and 1,808 healthcare workers in long-term facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 688 have been hospitalized and 361 have died. About 22% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facilities. Forty 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 associated with 99 cases. One facility has reported 93 COVID-19 outbreak cases since October.

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

There were 1,145 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Tuesdy, January 5. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 651 for the same time-period, which represents around 23 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council. We once again see record highs locally and at a regional level.

Health officials have indicated that while it is not unusual to see delays in accessing care over holiday weekends and then increasing demand the following week, they remain concerned about further increases in the following weeks due to multiple weeks of holiday gatherings.

Officials are asking that if you gathered over the holiday, especially in crowded indoor settings, even with no confirmed COVID exposure, to take precautions to reduce spread by staying home, masking if you must leave for essential activities, monitoring for symptoms, getting tested, and especially staying away from vulnerable or elderly family members and friends until you are certain you do not have COVID.

“Today we report another 2,427 new COVID cases and 17 deaths. We are ramping up vaccine distribution daily and this Monday we will have several new sites open. To register for the vaccine, go to http://www.dallascounty.org/covid-19/covid-19-vaccination.php. Also, please remember now it is more important than ever that we use the proven facts that will keep us safe until the vaccine can be broadly administered. With the high spread we’re seeing in the community, January and February will be our worst months for both hospitalizations and new COVID cases. It is more important than ever that we follow the doctors’ advice to wear our masks, frequently wash our hands and avoid crowds and get-togethers. The smart decisions we make today will have an impact on the numbers in two weeks and keep our community and our country as strong as possible at this critical time. If we make those smart decisions, we should see the benefit of early vaccinations in our healthcare workers and most vulnerable residents leading to lower hospitalization rates in March. We have a chance to get back to our pre-COVID activities faster if we all work together and support one another by making thoughtful and patriotic decisions to keep ourselves and our community safe,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]