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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Tuesday afternoon Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 1,129 new positive cases of COVID-19 in Dallas County, 882 confirmed cases and 247 probable cases.
There is a cumulative total of 168,782 confirmed cases (PCR test). There is a cumulative total of 20,470 probable cases (antigen test). A total of 1,596 Dallas County residents have lost their lives due to COVID-19 illness.
“Today we add an additional 1,129 cases and 16 deaths, ranging in ages from a teenager to individuals in their 80’s. Our hospital numbers are at all-time highs and our availability of ICU beds in the region is at an all-time low,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. “Currently, one in four persons hospitalized in Dallas County has COVID and approximately 30 percent of those hospitalized in the region have COVID.”
The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 50 was to 1,722, which is a rate of 65.3 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 23.3% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 50 (week ending 12/12/20). 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 5,971 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 756 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County, including 569 staff members. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 21 school nurses have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
“With the UT Southwestern projections indicating that our numbers of COVID hospitalizations will rise dramatically by January 5, it is imperative that all of us make the small, smart sacrifices to keep ourselves and our community as healthy as possible in this time of high spread,” Jenkins said.
The judge encouraged Texans to think ahead about ways to shop and run errands using curbside, online and delivery options. With the prevention of the spread of COVID in mind, he also encouraged people to rethink their New Year’s celebrations. Residents are being encouraged to find outdoor areas to sit and watch fireworks with immediate family or to celebrate inside homes or online through media/video sharing platforms.
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