Report Includes New COVID cases From Saturday-Monday
DALLAS — As of 3:00 pm July 27, 2021 Dallas County Health and Human Services is reporting 1,453 additional positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Dallas County, 1,296 confirmed cases and 157 probable cases. There is a cumulative total of 269,408 confirmed cases (PCR test). There is a cumulative total of 44,964 probable cases (antigen test). A total of 4,186 Dallas County residents have lost their lives due to COVID-19 illness. Today’s press release includes the number 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 take place on Saturday, July 31 from 8am-2pm in Lot 13 for Pfizer first and second doses.
The additional deaths being reported today include the following:
- A woman in her 30’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 60’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 70’s who was a resident of the City of Carrollton. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.
To date, a total of 184 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; twenty 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 28 (week ending 7/17/21), was 307, which is a rate of 11.6 daily new cases per 100,000 residents.
As of the week ending 7/17/2021, 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 30% of residents 12-17 years of age.
In Dallas County, 1,716 cases of COVID-19 breakthrough COVID-19 infections in fully vaccinated individuals have been confirmed to date, of which 124 (7%) were hospitalized and 16 have died due to COVID-19. Of all Dallas County residents tested for COVID-19 by PCR during the week ending 7/17/21 (CDC week 28), 9.7% of respiratory specimens tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
For week 28, 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 (8.5%), rhinovirus/enterovirus (21%) and RSV (37%).
CDC Recommends Vaccinated People Wear Masks
“Today we report 1,453 new cases and three deaths. This is a three-day total. Also, today the CDC instituted a recommendation that in high-spread areas, vaccinated people wear a mask when in indoor settings outside their own home. While this is frustrating news to many, it’s important to remember that the decisions of the CDC are not poll-driven decisions of politicians, but data-driven decisions of scientists who have prepared their entire adult lives to advise us in this moment.
I strongly recommend that vaccinated people follow the advice of the CDC and that businesses likewise require masks for their customers. Customers who are unwilling to wear a mask could be served curbside or in some other manner. Trust is important with our employees and our customers and this is a time for us all to come together.
I know there are vaccinated people who are growing frustrated with the unvaccinated but it’s important to remember that the unvaccinated includes everyone under the age of 12 as they are not yet eligible for the vaccine. As a society, it’s important that we do what we can to protect those who can’t yet be vaccinated or those who do not receive full protection from vaccination. This includes children under the age of 12 and immunocompromised loved ones.
New information is showing that some people who are vaccinated, but are contracting the Delta variant, are able to spread the virus to others. As a high-risk area per the CDC classifications, everyone regardless of vaccine status is asked to mask in indoor public settings. This is most important for those who have at-risk individuals in the home. It also means that everyone should get vaccinated just as soon as possible. It’s particularly important that children over the age of 12 who are returning to school get vaccinated as soon as possible as well.
Right now, what we’re seeing in our hospitals is that the majority of the beds that are COVID related are people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. This is also the general age of parents with school-age kids. If there’s a COVID outbreak at school, and children bring that home to their parents, then we’ll have a situation where once again we have a much less than desirable school year. I also ask everyone to cooperate with school districts as they encourage children to wear masks as we return to school. We’re all tired of COVID and we’re all tired of the fight but we cannot give up now. We must work together to defeat COVID,” 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.
