We continue to hear news of this virus spreading across the world, here in the United States, and in some areas of Texas. So what is the status of this virus here in Dallas County? To get answers, the Dallas County website was accessed today.
The daily average number of weekly newly confirmed and probable cases in Dallas County had previously peaked on July 11, 2020, at 1313. The current peek week for this occurred on the week ending on December 5, 2020, at 1647. With this, it is more important to consider hospitalizations and fatalities.
Considering hospitalizations in Dallas County, the peak in weekly emergency department visits associated with COVID-like illness occurred on the week ending on December 5, 2020. The next highest peak for this occurred on July 11, 2020. So we have so far, the daily average number of weekly newly confirmed and probable cases, as well as the number of weekly emergency department visits, have recently peaked. How has this affected the number of fatalities in Dallas County associated with COVID-19?
Thankfully, the daily average number of weekly fatalities in Dallas County has been dropping since November 14, 2020. The peak in the daily average number of weekly fatalities occurred in Dallas County on the week of July 19, 2020, at over 100. Following this, there was a steady decline in fatalities to September 20, 2020, at about 12 fatalities. Then the next peak in fatalities occurred around November 8, 2020, at about 47 fatalities per day. To conclude, the daily average number of weekly fatalities has been going down from about 47 to about 10 since mid-November 2020. To add to this, in the county, about 22% of the COVID-19 fatalities are associated with long-term care facilities.
Changing gears a bit, the Dallas County website does offer information on the positivity testing rates within the county. We have known that the CDC likes this number to be less than 10%, to indicate community mitigation measures are working well. The peak of the positivity rate in Dallas County occurred on June 27, 2020, when it was over 30%. Following that, the rate dropped to a low on September 12, 2020, at just under 10%. However, the rate has gone up since then; as of December 5, 2020, the positivity rate in the county is over 21%.
To this point, there are currently 97 active long-term care facility outbreaks in the county, and there are currently 26 congregate-living facility outbreaks in the county.
We all know what to do; we have known for many months. Our county, state, and national leaders cannot be in control of this; only we can be in control of this. We are the ones who decide if we will wear masks, we are the ones who decide if we will be exposed to larger groups of people, we decide if we will go out or get tested when we are feeling sick, we decide if we will get tested or self-quarantine when we have been exposed to someone who is suspected of or who has tested positive to the virus, we decide our own personal hand hygiene, etc. You get the point.
This is up to us. Yes, it has gone on for way too long. However, there is still much work to be done. May we rely on our foundational sources for hope and strength; facts, logic, and faith.
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