Jenkins warns of “suboptimal” care if COVID-19 reaches another vacation peak as hospitalizations in Texas reach a new record

Updated at 4:50 pm: Revised to include Collin County and statewide numbers.

As Dallas County reported 1,243 new cases of coronavirus and 15 additional deaths on Monday, County Judge Clay Jenkins pleaded with residents to avoid large New Year holidays that could spread the virus further in the coming weeks.

Across the state, a record 11,351 patients were hospitalized with the virus on Monday.

“Although this is a traditionally joyful time when we gather with our friends and family to celebrate and inaugurate the New Year, we are in a very dangerous situation with COVID-19 in our county and region,” said Jenkins in a written statement, noting that hospitals in the region are already limited.

A forecast by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows that hospitalizations in Dallas County for the virus – which reached a record high of 1,000 last week – could reach 1,500 by January 5. If that happens, Jenkins said, ICU beds will fill up and some patients will be “forced to have less than optimal care”.

On Wednesday, Jenkins warned that the county had only 17 ICU beds available – a record low. On Monday, he reported that the number of open ICU beds rose to 27.

But Steve Love, president and CEO of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council, said on Monday that there were only 56 ICU beds available in the 19 counties area of ​​northern Texas.

Jenkins said people should celebrate the New Year safely at home, with only their members.

“You may find that the personal risk of COVID-19 is not high, but given the great possibility of exposure in a bar or party environment, including parties at home with people you don’t live with, you pose a risk to those around you. around you if you cannot quarantine properly after potential exposure, ”he said.

The latest victims killed in Dallas County included six Dallas residents: a woman in her 50s, a man in her 60s, a woman in her 60s who lived in a long-term care facility, two women in her 70s and a man in his 80s.

The other victims were two residents of Garland, a man in his 40s and a man in his 50s who lived in a long-term care facility; two Mesquite residents, a man and a woman, both in their 70s; a DeSoto woman in her 80s who was a resident of a long-term care facility; a farmer woman in her 60s; an Irving man in his 70s; a Lancaster in his 60s; and a Rowlett man in his 70s.

Everyone except the Mesquite man had underlying health problems that put them at high risk for complications from COVID-19, health officials said.

Of the new cases reported on Monday, 1,142 were confirmed and 101 are likely. Newly reported cases bring the county’s total confirmed cases to 167,900 and probable cases to 20,223. Dallas County recorded 1,580 COVID-19 deaths.

The county said it is counting only positive antigen tests (sometimes called rapid tests) as probable cases; some antibody and “household” results have been included previously.

While other counties in northern Texas provide estimates of how many people have recovered from the virus, Dallas county officials do not report recoveries, noting that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not use this metric.

Health officials use hospitalizations, intensive care admissions and visits to emergency rooms as key metrics to track the real-time impact of COVID-19 in the county. Because of a delay in weekend reports, these Dallas County numbers will be available next Tuesday.

State data

Across the state, another 13,864 cases of coronavirus and 49 deaths from COVID-19 were reported on Monday. Texas has already reported 1,683,426 total cases and 26,521 deaths.

Of the new cases, 12,841 were confirmed and 1,023 were likely. The state reported 1,490,479 confirmed cases and 192,947 probable cases.

There are 11,351 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals – a new record for the state – including 3,476 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, also a record. The state’s previous record, 10,893 patients, was set on July 22.

The seven-day average positivity rate across the state for molecular testing, based on the date of collection of the test sample, was 15.8% on Sunday. State health officials said using data based on when people were tested provides the most accurate rate of positivity.

For the antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 9.6%.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 5,991 cases of coronavirus and 18 new deaths on Monday. According to the county panel, these totals include cases reported from Thursday to Sunday.

Five of the victims were Fort Worth residents: a woman in her 50s, a woman in her 60s, a man and a woman in her 70s and a woman in her 80s. Another five lived in Richland Hills: a man and a woman in her 70s, a woman in her 80s and two women in her 90s.

The other victims were three Arlington residents, a man in his 50s, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s; two men from Bedford, in their 70s and 80s; a man from Haltom in his 80s; a Hurst man in his 80s; and a Westworth Village man in his 90s.

The new reported cases bring the county total to 144,001, including 125,947 confirmed cases, 18,054 probable cases and 105,531 recoveries. The death toll is 1,425.

According to Monday’s figures on the county panel, 1,175 people are hospitalized with the virus.

Collin County

The state added 418 cases of coronavirus to Collin County’s total on Monday, bringing the count to 46,018. No further deaths from COVID-19 have been reported, leaving the county’s death toll at 351.

Of the new cases, 359 were confirmed and 59 were likely. Collin County recorded 41,496 confirmed cases and 4,522 probable cases.

According to state data, the municipality has 4,053 active cases.

The county coronavirus panel provides only the total number of hospitalizations, now at 518.

Denton County

Denton County reported 454 cases of coronavirus – 357 of which are active – and 11 new deaths on Monday, the first time the county reported a double-digit death toll.

The latest victims included five Denton residents: a man in his 60s, a woman in her 70s who lived in Denton Golden Meadows Care and a man and two women over 80, one of whom lived in the Good Society Samaritan – Lake Forest Village.

The other victims were two Lewisville men in their 70s, a Corinthian woman in her 80s, a Flower Mound man in her 50s, and a man and woman, both over 80, who lived in the Denton County not incorporated.

The new reported cases bring the county total to 37,262, including 12,031 assets and 25,033 recoveries. The death toll is 198.

Newly reported cases also increase the county’s total molecular cases to 30,638, while antigen cases are 6,624.

There is a record of 204 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, according to data from the municipality.

Other counties

The Texas Department of Health Services has taken over the reports for these other northern Texas counties. In some counties, new data may not be reported every day.

The last numbers are:

• Rockwall County: 5,777 cases (4,797 confirmed and 980 probable), 49 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 8,686 cases (7,576 confirmed and 1,110 probable), 112 deaths.
• Ellis County: 12,230 cases (10,781 confirmed and 1,449 likely), 159 deaths.
• Johnson County: 10,208 cases (9,024 confirmed and 1,184 probable), 149 deaths.

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