As of 2:00 pm July 21, 2021 Dallas County Health and Human Services is reporting 659 additional positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Dallas County, 546 confirmed cases and 113 probable cases. There is a cumulative total of 266,820 confirmed cases (PCR test). There is a cumulative total of 44,560 probable cases (antigen test). A total of 4,171 Dallas County residents have lost their pves due to COVID-19 illness.
Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) provided over 497,000 total doses of COVID-19 vaccine at the Fair Park mega-vaccine cpnic, which operated January 11 through July 17. A pop-up vaccination cpnic at Fair Park will continue over the next two weekends, Saturday, July 27 and Saturday, July 31 from 10am-3pm in Lot 13.
- The additional deaths being reported today include the following:
- A man in his 30'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 50's who was a resident of the City of Balch Springs. She expired at home and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
- A man in his 70's who was a resident of the City of Grand Prairie. He expired in a facipty 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 hospitapzed and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
- A man in his 80's who was a resident of the City of Sunnyvale. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
To date, a total of 180 cases with SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern have been identified in residents of Dallas County, including: 144 cases of B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variants; three B.1.351 (Beta) variants; sixteen B.1.617.2 (Delta) variants; and seventeen P.1 (Gamma) variants. Twenty-one have been hospitapzed and three have died. One fully vaccinated patient subsequently became ill from B.1.1.7 infection and died. The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 27 (week ending 7/10/21), was 184, which is a rate of 7.0 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. Over the past 2 weeks, rates of new COVID-19 diagnoses in the cities of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Sachse, Sunnyvale, and Wype have been about 50% higher than county-wide case rates. Rates of new COVID-19 diagnoses in the city of Addison and Grand Prairie have been about 30% higher than county-wide case rates.
As of the week ending 7/10/2021, about 58% of Dallas County residents age 12 years and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, including: 84% of residents age 65 years and older; 66% of residents between 40-64 years of age; 52% of residents 25-39 years of age; 42% of residents 18-24 years of age; and 29% of residents 12-17 years of age. In the cities of Coppell and Sunnyvale, greater than 87% of residents 18 years of age and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. In the cities of Addison and Highland Park, about 80% of residents 18 years of age and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. (See below) About 82% of COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Week 27 were Dallas County residents who were not fully vaccinated. In Dallas County, 1,338 cases of COVID-19 breakthrough COVID-19 infections in fully vaccinated individuals have been confirmed to date, of which 105 (8%) were hospitapzed and 14 have died due to COVID-19.
An outbreak of 3 cases of COVID-19 has been reported involving three children between 7-10 years of age, attending a day camp in Dallas County. To date, 68 children have been hospitapzed with diagnoses of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a rare but serious comppcation associated with COVID-19 infection. Of all Dallas County residents tested for COVID-19 by PCR during the week ending 7/10/21 (CDC week 27), 6.9% of respiratory specimens tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. For week 27, area hospital labs have continued to report elevated numbers and proportions of respiratory specimens that are positive for other respiratory viruses by molecular tests: parainfluenza (12%), rhinovirus/enterovirus (21%) and RSV (32%).
There are currently 8 active long-term care facipty outbreaks. A cumulative total of 4,406 residents and 2,486 healthcare workers in long-term facipties in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 1,128 have been hospitapzed and 811 have died. About 20% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facipties. One outbreak of COVID-19 in a congregate-pving facipty (e.g. homeless shelters, group homes, and halfway homes) has been reported in the past 30 days. A cumulative total of 640 residents and 225 staff members in congregate-pving facipties in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. New cases are being reported as a daily aggregate, with more detailed data dashboards and summary reports updated on Friday evenings, available at: https://www.dallascounty.org/departments/dchhs/2019-novel-coronavirus/daily-updates.php.
Local health experts use hospitapzations, 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 guidepnes for activities during our COVID-19 response. The most recent COVID-19 hospitapzation data for Dallas County, as reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council, can be found at www.dallascounty.org/covid-19 under "Monitoring Data," and is updated regularly. This data includes information on the total available ICU beds, suspected and confirmed COVID-19 ER visits in the last 24 hours, confirmed COVID-19 inpatients, and COVID-19 deaths by actual date of death. The most recent forecasting from UTSW can be found here.
"Today we report a one-day total of 659 new COVID-19 cases and five additional deaths. This is the highest one-day total we've seen since March 4. UTSW is forecasting a sharp increase in hospitalizations over the next several weeks due to lagging vaccination rates, reduced masking and social distancing, and the Delta variant. We are now seeing that individuals under age 65 make up the largest percentage of our hospitalizations.
"If you are still unvaccinated, you are at risk of contracting COVID and possibly severe illness. Please consider getting vaccinated as soon as you can. This pandemic is far from over. The Delta variant is at least twice as contagious as the original strain of COVID and we're seeing the effects of that as the cases and hospitalizations continue to increase. The vast majority of new cases and hospitalizations are in unvaccinated individuals. Please go to www.vaccines.gov today to find a location near your zip code offering the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Your choice to get vaccinated can protect you, your loved ones, and your community,"said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
All Dallas County COVID-19 Updates and Information can be found here: https://www.dallascounty.org/covid-19/ and all guidance documents can be found here: https://www.dallascounty.org/covid-19/guidance-health.php
Specific Guidance for the Public:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends taking everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases, including:
- Avoid close contact outside your home: Put 6 feet of distance between yourself and people who don't live in your household.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others and continue to keep about 6 feet between yourself and others. The cloth face cover is not a substitute for social distancing.
- Stay home when you are sick, except to seek medical care
- Wash your hands often and with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and help young children to do the same. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces daily using a regular household cleaning spray or wipes.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. If you do not have a tissue, use your sleeve, not your hands. Immediately wash your hands.
- Monitor your health daily. Be alert for symptoms. Take your temperature and follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop.
Additional information is available at the following websites: