‘Worst we’ve seen’ in Dallas County as ICU nears capacity; COVID cases, deaths surging
Dallas County reported 30 more COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday as a surge of fatal contractions of the coronavirus continues to hit the area.
Dallas County reported a record high 2,512 coronavirus cases on Wednesday. It’s the fourth time in the past eight days the county has reported more than 2,000 COVID cases.
The county has reported 113 COVID-related deaths in the past four days and 260 deaths in the past two weeks.
“As of this morning, we had 17 remaining ICU beds in Dallas County, the worst we’ve seen so far,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a release and on social media. “If we reach the predicted worst-case scenarios, we will surpass our capacity. While hospitals can add beds, we don’t have the ability to easily add physicians, nurses, other clinical staff.”
Dallas County has averaged a pandemic high 1,884 coronavirus cases a day the past week.
The county reported 3,303 COVID cases on Nov. 29 but that included cases over a multi-day span.
Dallas County has confirmed 160,189 COVID-19 cases and 1,544 deaths.
“Now is a time for patriotism as we battle a determined and relentless foe that is killing North Texans in record numbers,” Jenkins said. “The virus doesn’t care it’s the holidays and that we are tired and want to spend time with family. We must not give up on the proven ways of keeping ourselves safe and our community strong.”
COVID-19 cases over time
Coronavirus daily case counts over time by local counties in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex. Tap the arrow button to replay the animation. Data provided by Texas Health and Human Services and local counties.
This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 4:57 PM.
