COVID-19 updates: Texas could be out of ICU beds in just a few weeks, data shows
Dallas and Tarrant County both reported more than 2,000 new cases of coronavirus Sunday.
North Texas is running out of ICU beds as counties across the region continue to report thousands of new coronavirus cases a day.
The data dashboard for Texas Department of State Health Services’ Trauma Service Area E, which encompasses North Texas, shows just 63 available ICU beds for the whole region, which includes more than 8 million people.
The state also reported 12,954 new confirmed cases, 2,638 probable cases and 186 new deaths from coronavirus Sunday, as well as a total of 13,111 lab-confirmed coronavirus patients in the hospital.
In addition to 12,954 new confirmed cases, DSHS is reporting 236 older confirmed cases recently reported by labs: Colorado County (3), El Paso County (7), Galveston County (21), Harris County (191), Liberty County (4), Matagorda County (6), Starr County (1) and Wharton County (3).
In addition to 2,638 new probable cases, DSHS is reporting 27 older probable cases recently reported by labs: Austin County (4), Colorado County (1), Liberty County (11), Matagorda County (6) and Waller County (5).
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a tweet last week January and February would likely be the worst for cases in Dallas County since the pandemic began.
Statewide, data shows just 506 ICU beds available, a number that has been steadily declining since the beginning of the year.
County-reported data from Tarrant County Sunday puts the county’s ICU at nearly full capacity.
The state reported 562 new hospitalizations in Collin County, and a cumulative total of 50,312 coronavirus cases and 422 deaths as of Sunday.
Dallas County reports 2,246 new cases and 7 deaths
Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 2,246 total new cases of coronavirus and seven deaths Sunday. That case number consists of 1,987 confirmed cases and 259 probable cases of coronavirus.
Including that report, the county has now recorded 1,773 deaths, 192,567 confirmed and 24,652 probable cases of coronavirus since tracking began in March.
According to county data, the provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 53 was 2,104, a rate of 79.8 daily new cases per 100,000 residents—the highest case rate in Dallas County since the beginning of the pandemic.
All seven people who were reported dead Sunday were either hospitalized or critically ill with underlying, high-risk health conditions. They are:
- A Dallas man in his 40s
- A Grand Prairie man in his 60s
- A Dallas man in his 60s
- A Dallas man in his 60s
- A Richardson woman in her 60s
- A Garland woman in her 60s
- A Duncanville woman in her 80s
New hospital and ICU data reported by Dallas County will be available on Tuesday, Jan. 12.
Tarrant County reports nearly full ICU capacity, almost 3,000 new cases and no deaths Sunday
Tarrant County Public Health reported nearly 3,000 new cases of coronavirus Sunday as its ICU beds reached 94 percent occupancy.
The county reported 2,950 new cases of coronavirus and no new deaths Sunday, placing the county at 176,790 total cases of coronavirus since tracking began in March. That total number consists of 153,472 confirmed positive cases of coronavirus and 23,318 probable cases from antigen testing, according to county health data.
As of Saturday, Jan. 9, the county reported a total of 31 percent of its hospital beds taken up by COVID-19 patients. 41 percent of the county’s available ventilators are in use.
