Dallas County is reporting record numbers of both COVID-19 hospitalizations and new cases Tuesday along with 14 more deaths.
The county reported a record 3,549 positive cases Tuesday, which was 350 more than their previous high mark, but also a record 1,226 COVID-19 patients who were in county hospitals through Monday night. They also reported 462 ER visits Monday for people with COVID-19 symptoms.
Of the cases reported Monday, the county said 2,979 were confirmed cases and 570 were probable (antigen test) cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the county from March 2020 to 197,359 and the number of probable (antigen test) cases to 25,276. The total of confirmed and probable cases in the county is now at 222,635. Over the last seven days, Dallas County officials have reported 18,260 new confirmed and probable cases of the virus for an average of 2,609 per day.
County officials said Monday there have been 1,791 deaths in the county attributed to the virus since March 2020. The 14 victims announced Tuesday include people whose ages range from their 40s to 80s, who were all hospitalized, and who were residents of Dallas, Highland Park, Mesquite, and DeSoto.
With the deaths announced Tuesday, the city of Dallas has now lost 1,000 residents to the virus since March 2020.
“We are in our toughest time for COVID spread. Activities that seemed safe to you weeks ago are much less safe now,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a statement Tuesday. “Much focus is on vaccine now, as it should be, but the job of ensuring orderly and rapid vaccination falls on a few of us in emergency response and healthcare. The job of keeping safe and keeping the spread of COVID downfalls on all of you.”
COVID-19 VACCINE EFFORTS
In partnership with the state health department, Dallas County opened a large-scale vaccine hub at Fair Park on Monday where they planned to administer up to 2,000 vaccines per day for those in Phase 1A and 1B. The vaccination center does not accept walk-ups and you must have an appointment to get vaccinated. Register for an appointment at the link below. The county is also planning on providing vaccines at two other locations in the county where they can administer an additional 1,000 vaccines per day.
The vaccine is currently only being administered to those who are part of Phase 1A and 1B, as outlined by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Those in Phase 1A are front-line healthcare workers or residents of long-term care facilities. Phase 1B includes those who are over the age of 65 or those over the age of 16 with a chronic medical condition that puts them at risk for severe illness.
Once vaccinated, people are expected to get some level of protection within a couple of weeks after the first shot, but full protection may not happen until a couple of weeks after the second shot. Even when fully vaccinated, it’s still possible to become infected by the virus since the vaccine does not offer 100% protection.
