178 New COVID-19 Cases, 3 New Deaths
DALLAS — As of 12:00 pm May 8, 2021 Dallas County Health and Human Services is reporting 178 additional positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Dallas County, 169 confirmed cases and 9 probable cases. There is a cumulative total of 258,609 confirmed cases (PCR test). There is a cumulative total of 41,830 probable cases (antigen test). A total of 3,928 Dallas County residents have lost their lives due to COVID-19 illness.
Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) is providing initial vaccinations to those most at risk of exposure to COVID-19 and over 455,000 total doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered at the Fair Park mega-vaccine clinic, which started operations on Monday, January 11. Vaccine operations for both first and second doses at Fair Park continue on Saturday.
The additional deaths being reported today include the following:
- A man in his 50’s who was a resident of the City of Coppell. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.
- 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 woman in her 50’s who was a resident of the City of Mesquite. She expired in an area hospital ED and had underlying high risk health conditions.
To date, a total of 61 cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7; six B.1.429 variants; two B.1.526 variants; one P.1 variant; and one P.2 variant have been identified in residents of Dallas County. Five have been hospitalized with 3 requiring intensive care unit admission, and one has died. Seven had history of recent domestic travel outside of Texas. One case of B.1.1.7 is a likely instance of reinfection with COVID-19, occurring over 6 months after an initial PCR-confirmed infection.
The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 17 was 214, which is a rate of 8.2 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. Of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals in week 17 (week ending 5/1/21), 10.8% of respiratory specimens tested positive SARS-CoV-2.
During the past 30 days, there were 1,064 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 390 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County. There are currently 31 active long-term care facility outbreaks.
A cumulative total of 4,368 residents and 2,460 healthcare workers in long-term facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 1,086 have been hospitalized and 771 have died. About 20% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facilities. Twelve outbreaks of COVID-19 in congregate-living facilities (e.g. homeless shelters, group homes, and halfway homes) have been reported in the past 30 days. A cumulative total of 598 residents and 221 staff members in congregate-living facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
15% Of ER Visits Present COVID-19 Symptoms
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. There were 184 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on May 7. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 408 for the same time-period, which represents around 15 percent of all emergency department visits in the county.
Vaccination is the best way to prevent illness and hospitalization from COVID. Protect yourself and your loved ones by getting vaccinated as soon as possible. Updated UTSW forecasting reflects a minor decrease within their model with hospitalizations between 140-220 and daily case counts of 210 by May 24th. If vaccination rates continue to increase, hospitalizations within the model remain low. With a slower pace of vaccination and reduced personal protective measures, the model shows growth.
More Than 50% Dallas County Residents Have Had At Least 1 COVID-19 Shot
“Today we report 178 cases and 3 deaths. We now have more than 50% of Dallas County residents with at least one shot. If you haven’t had a shot of the Coronavirus vaccine, it’s not too late. We have a shot waiting for you at many locations, including Fair Park, without needing an appointment or even pre-registration. You can simply go to Fair Park, Monday, Wednesday, Friday or next Saturday and claim your two-shot, or one-and-done shot, by simply driving up or taking the DART to Fair Park. There are many other locations to serve you as well. I was walking blocks this morning and had the opportunity to visit with several people who had not been vaccinated but would greatly benefit from vaccination. They are going to get vaccinated today and Monday, but it’s impossible for us to talk one-on-one with everyone.
So, please do all that you can to encourage your friends who are unvaccinated to get vaccinated just as soon as possible. For the week, we grieve the loss of 28 people, making this our least deadly week this year. We have seen a decrease the last four weeks in the number of deaths. This is largely due to the vaccine and particularly older people getting it.
We are now seeing more and more young people having serious cases of COVID. For the week we are averaging 247 daily cases. This is a decrease from last week, which had an average of 273 cases, and a decrease from the last 3 weeks. We hope this trend will continue as we continue to get vaccinated. We all have a role to play in the battle against the Coronavirus.
Our American economy and public health depend on us doing our part. Your patriotic part is to get vaccinated and make those smart choices that the CDC recommends, like frequent hand washing, avoiding large crowds and wearing your mask around indoor crowds. Together we will defeat COVID and take advantage of our strong position to grow our economy and quality of life here in North Texas,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
