Dallas County added a record 2,438 new confirmed and likely cases of COVID-19 Wednesday along with 12 more deaths attributed to the virus.
“The current number of 2,438 cases is 250 more than we have ever experienced in a day. Today we also report 12 more deaths from COVID. With the unprecedented high prevalence we are experiencing, it is important that people plan with anticipation to avoid crowds, ”Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a statement.
Of the cases reported Wednesday, the county said 1,942 were confirmed cases and 496 were probable cases (antigen test), bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the county in March to 149,533 and the number of probable cases. (antigen test) at 16,697. The total number of confirmed and probable cases in the county is now 166,230. Over the past seven days, Dallas County officials have confirmed 13,942 confirmed and probable cases of the virus.
The last 12 victims involved a forty-year-old man from Garland, a fifty-year-old man from Seagoville, a 60-year-old woman from Dallas, a 70-year-old man from Richardson, a 70-year-old man from Cedar Hill and six men from his age 70s Dallas, two of whom lived in long-term care centers. All the victims had been hospitalized and had underlying illnesses. The twelfth victim was a fifty-year-old Dallas man who had underlying illnesses and was found dead at his home.
County officials said Wednesday there were 1,403 deaths in the county attributed to the virus. In the summer, Dr. Philip Huang, director of the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services, said COVID-19 is the third leading cause of death in the county behind heart disease and cancer.
The county said the provisional 7-day average for new confirmed and probable cases by evidence collection date for CDC week 49 was 1,647, representing a rate of 62.5 new daily cases for each case. 100,000 residents and is the highest case rate in the county. since the pandemic began.
In the past 30 days, there have been 4,520 cases of COVID-19 in children and school-age staff from more than 735 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County, including 681 staff members.
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There are currently 93 active outbreaks of long-term care centers. Over the past 30 days, a total of 848 COVID-19 cases from these facilities have been reported, including 317 staff members. Of these cases, 32 have been hospitalized and 33 have died, including 2 deaths of staff members. In the last 30 days, twenty-six outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported in cohabitation facilities (e.g., homeless shelters, communal homes, and halfway houses) associated with 165 cases, including six hospitalizations. One facility has reported 89 cases of COVID-19 outbreaks since October.
“It’s up to all of us to use the two‘ vaccines ’we have at our disposal now, the mask and the recommendations based on doctors’ facts, until the vaccine can be available to everyone, ”Jenkins said.