As of 2:00 pm July 20, 2021, Dallas County Health and Human Services is reporting 870 additional positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Dallas County, 726 confirmed cases, and 144 probable cases. There is a cumulative total of 266,274 confirmed cases (PCR test). There is a cumulative total of 44,447 probable cases (antigen test). A total of 4,166 Dallas County residents have lost their lives due to COVID-19 illness. Today's release includes the numbers 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 clinic, which operated January 11 through July 17. A pop-up vaccination clinic at Fair Park will continue over the next two weekends, Saturday, July 27, and Saturday, July 31 from 10 am-3 pm in Lot 13.
The additional deaths being reported today include the following:
- A woman in her 50'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 60's who was a resident of the City of Lancaster. He expired in an area hospital ED and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
- A woman in her 60's who was a resident of the City of Mesquite. She 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 Mesquite. 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 Richardson. He expired in hospice care 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 hospitalized 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 Wylie 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 hospitalized 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 hospitalized with diagnoses of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a rare but serious complication 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 facility outbreaks. A cumulative total of 4,406 residents and 2,486 healthcare workers in long-term facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 1,128 have been hospitalized and 811 have died. About 20% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facilities. One outbreak of COVID-19 in a congregate-living facility (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-living facilities 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 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. The most recent COVID-19 hospitalization 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.
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"Today we report 870 new COVID-19 cases and five additional deaths, which is a three-day total from Saturday through Monday. Last week's three-day total was 626 new cases and the week before that, which was a four-day total due to the July 4th holiday, totaled 319 cases. In addition to increasing daily cases, our hospitalizations have doubled in July. The slope of our upward trend is concerning and is more dramatic in the past week with increased hospital admissions, patients hospitalized and an increased percentage of cases in the ICU. The models continue to predict increases as well.
There are locations open all across the county where you can get your vaccine. Find a location near you at www.Vaccines.gov. This upcoming Saturday, July 24 and next Saturday, July 31, DCHHS is hosting a vaccine pop-up clinic at Fair Park, Lot 13, from 10am-3pm for Pfizer only. Appointments aren't required but are encouraged. Sign up here: https://dallas-county.quickscreen.health/dallas-co#/screening. Don't delay, sign-up for your vaccine today," 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: