As of 3:00 pm July 27, 2021, Dallas County Health and Human Services is reporting 1,453 additional positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Dallas County, 1,296 confirmed cases, and 157 probable cases. There is a cumulative total of 269,408 confirmed cases (PCR test). There is a cumulative total of 44,964 probable cases (antigen test). A total of 4,186 Dallas County residents have lost their pves due to COVID-19 illness. Today's press release includes the number of new cases from Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
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 from January 11 through July 17. A pop-up vaccination cpnic at Fair Park will take place on Saturday, July 31 from 8 am-2 pm in Lot 13 for Pfizer first and second doses.
The additional deaths being reported today include the following:
A woman in her 30'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 man in his 70's who was a resident of the City of Carrollton. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
To date, a total of 184 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; twenty 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 28 (week ending 7/17/21), was 307, which is a rate of 11.6 daily new cases per 100,000 residents.
As of the week ending 7/17/2021, 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 30% 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 79% of COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Week 28 were Dallas County residents who were not fully vaccinated. In Dallas County, 1,716 cases of COVID-19 breakthrough COVID-19 infections in fully vaccinated individuals have been confirmed to date, of which 124 (7%) were hospitapzed and 16 have died due to COVID-19. Of all Dallas County residents tested for COVID-19 by PCR during the week ending 7/17/21 (CDC week 28), 9.7% of respiratory specimens tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. For week 28, 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 (8.5%), rhinovirus/enterovirus (21%) and RSV (37%).
There are currently 20 active long-term care facipty outbreaks. A cumulative total of 4,411 residents and 2,497 healthcare workers in long-term facipties in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 1,131 have been hospitapzed and 813 have died. About 20% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facipties. There has been one outbreak of COVID-19 in a congregate-pving facipty (e.g. homeless shelters, group homes, and halfway homes) reported within the past 30 days. A cumulative total of 641 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 1,453 new cases and three deaths. This is a three-day total. Also, today the CDC instituted a recommendation that in high-spread areas, vaccinated people wear a mask when in indoor settings outside their own home. While this is frustrating news to many, it's important to remember that the decisions of the CDC are not poll-driven decisions of politicians, but data-driven decisions of scientists who have prepared their entire adult lives to advise us in this moment. I strongly recommend that vaccinated people follow the advice of the CDC and that businesses likewise require masks for their customers. Customers who are unwilling to wear a mask could be served curbside or in some other manner. Trust is important with our employees and our customers and this is a time for us all to come together.
"I know there are vaccinated people who are growing frustrated with the unvaccinated but it's important to remember that the unvaccinated includes everyone under the age of 12 as they are not yet eligible for the vaccine. As a society, it's important that we do what we can to protect those who can't yet be vaccinated or those who do not receive full protection from vaccination. This includes children under the age of 12 and immunocompromised loved ones. New information is showing that some people who are vaccinated, but are contracting the Delta variant, are able to spread the virus to others. As a high-risk area per the CDC classifications, everyone regardless of vaccine status is asked to mask in indoor public settings. This is most important for those who have at-risk individuals in the home. It also means that everyone should get vaccinated just as soon as possible. It's particularly important that children over the age of 12 who are returning to school get vaccinated as soon as possible as well.
"Right now, what we're seeing in our hospitals is that the majority of the beds that are COVID related are people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. This is also the general age of parents with school-age kids. If there's a COVID outbreak at school, and children bring that home to their parents, then we'll have a situation where once again we have a much less than desirable school year. I also ask everyone to cooperate with school districts as they encourage children to wear masks as we return to school. We're all tired of COVID and we're all tired of the fight but we cannot give up now. We must work together to defeat COVID," 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: