County Reports Fewer Than 1,000 COVID Infections Monday For First Time Since December

As Dallas County reported fewer than 1,000 new COVID-19 infections Monday for the first time since December and vaccine distribution continues, here’s what you need to know today:

• Dallas County reports 908 more COVID-19 cases, 34 deaths;
• Abbott: Texas working with FEMA on vaccine ‘super sites’;
• Small Business Continuity Fund Grant Program reopens for applications.

Dallas County reports 908 more COVID-19 cases, 34 deaths

Dallas County Monday reported 908 more positive COVID-19 cases – 698 confirmed and 210 probable–and 34 deaths.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the county’s reported a cumulative total of 235,738 confirmed cases, 32,524 probable, and 2,452 deaths from COVID-19.

Among the additional deaths reported Monday were a Dallas man in his 50s, a Grand Prairie woman in her 50s, a Dallas man in his 50s who died at his home, two Cedar Hill men in their 60s, one of whom died at his home, a Dallas man in his 60s, a Cedar Hill woman in her 60s, a Garland man in his 60s, a Carrollton woman in her 60s who died in hospice and didn’t have underlying conditions, a Cedar Hill man in his 70s, a Desoto man in his 70s, a Grand Prairie man in his 70s, a Carrollton man in his 70s who died at his home, a Grand Prairie woman in her 70s, two Dallas women in their 70s, two Dallas men in their 70s, a Dallas man in his 70s without underlying conditions, a Garland man in his 70s who died in hospice, two Grand Prairie men in their 80s, a Dallas woman in her 80s, a Dallas man in his 80s who died at his home, a Desoto woman in her 90s who died in hospice, a Richardson woman in her 90s, a Garland man in his 90s who died in hospice, a Dallas woman in her 90s who died in a hospital emergency room, a Lancaster man in his 90s who died at his home, a Dallas man in his 90s, and a Dallas woman in her 90s who died at his home.

Also among the deaths reported Monday were a man in his 90s who lived at a Garland long-term care facility and died in hospice, a woman in her 90s who lived at a Richardson long-term care facility who died in hospice, and a man in his 100s who lived at a Richardson long-term care facility. 

“Today we report the first day below 1,000 new COVID cases since December 4. We also report 34 additional deaths. Now is a time to renew our resolve and push the numbers even lower which we can do by wearing masks, avoiding crowds and forgoing get-togethers. It’s up to all of us to do all that we can to buy our community and our country some time until the vaccines can begin to have their effect. By making smart decisions, registering to get vaccinated in as many places as you’re willing to drive, and getting vaccinated as soon as you’re eligible and called, we will defeat COVID together,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins Monday. 

Vaccine distribution continues

The county says 37,243 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered at the Fair Park mega-vaccine clinic, and Dallas County Health and Human Services received an allotment of 9,000 doses from the state for this week. 

UT Southwestern Medical Center also reports the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 remains high, but continues to decline from its mid-January peak.

UTSW’s data shows COVID-19 hospitalizations have declined by 24% during the past two weeks.

UTSW’s model projects total COVID-19 hospitalizations in Dallas County could reach between 420 and 720 concurrent hospitalized cases by Feb. 19, and roughly 1,100 new COVID-19 infections per day are expected by Feb. 19.

During the month of January, there were 9,231 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from 755 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County.  A total of 420 children in Dallas County under 18 years of age have been hospitalized since the beginning of the pandemic, including 32 patients diagnosed with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children (MIS-C). 

As of Monday, Highland Park ISD reports 10 cases among staff members districtwide and 31 among students districtwide, according to the district’s COVID-19 webpage.

The district reports three cases among staff members assigned to Armstrong Elementary, one case in a student there, two cases among students at Boone Elementary, two cases among students at Hyer, one case in a staff member assigned to University Park, one case in a staff member assigned to McCulloch Intermediate, three among students there, two among staff members assigned to Highland Park Middle School, seven among students there, three among staff members assigned to Highland Park High School, and 16 among students there. 

As of Monday, Dallas ISD reported 4,073 cases districtwide, 2,015 among campus staff, 420 among central staff, and 1,638 among students, according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard.

There are also 102 active long-term care facility outbreaks. 

A cumulative total of 3,979 residents and 2,242 healthcare workers in long-term facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 858 have been hospitalized and 487 have died. About 22% of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term care facilities.  

Seventeen outbreaks of COVID-19 in congregate-living facilities, such as homeless shelters, group homes, and halfway homes, have been reported in the past 30 days. A cumulative total of 383 residents and 190 staff members in congregate-living facilities in Dallas have been diagnosed with COVID-19. 

Abbott: Texas working with FEMA on vaccine ‘super sites’

Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday the state is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to create vaccine ‘super sites,’ likely starting in Dallas and Houston.

Texas is working with FEMA to create some Super Sites for vaccinations.

Initially it would likely be 2 sites with 5000-6000 additional vaccinations per day, 7 days a week for 8 weeks.

It would likely start in Houston & Dallas — with possible expansion to other locations.

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 8, 2021

FEMA has said it’s partnering with states to launch a small number of pilot community vaccination sites, primarily using federal staff, before potentially rolling out more nationwide as vaccine supply ramps up.

Abbott’s office didn’t provide additional details about plans in the works with FEMA. 

Small Business Continuity Fund Grant Program reopens for applications

The city of Dallas has reopened applications for the Small Business Continuity Fund (SBCF) grant program. The SBCF grant program was designed to assist small businesses with revenue under $1.5 million that create or retain one or more full time low-to-moderate income jobs.

Eligible businesses must be located within the city of Dallas, demonstrate a 25% loss because of the pandemic since March 2020 and were operating prior to September 1, 2019. The maximum grant size is $15,000 and is sized on three months of business revenue or expenses.

Eligibility applications are being accepted via the City of Dallas Office of Economic Development’s website, and will be accepted from February 3 through February 10, 2021. All eligible applications will then be entered into a lottery to generate a ranked list of businesses that will be invited to submit a complete application.

“The City of Dallas is pleased to offer this funding to our Dallas small businesses,” said Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson, Chief of Economic Development & Neighborhood Services. “In Round One, grants were awarded in every council district and 95% of these grants are going to neighborhood businesses with revenue of less than a million dollars. Continuing the program offers ongoing support of these small businesses that keep our neighborhoods strong and vibrant.”

This is the second round of applications accepted for the SBCF program. The first round accepted applications in May.

Complete and interactive data about the grant and loan applicants and recipients is available here.