“We continue to have a spike and a surge,” Richardson said during a Jan. 25 Denton County commissioners meeting.
Richardson hoped cases would begin to decrease for the week of Jan. 9-15 but that was not the case, he said. Cases continue to be reported for the week, but 7,724 cases have been reported, according to county case counts.
The previous week from Jan. 3-7 saw 3,671 reported cases.
Pediatric cases have also increased, specifically in school-aged children, Richardson said.
Lewisville ISD closed schools from Jan. 26-31 due to staffing shortages related to the latest COVID-19 surge, according to the district.
The district reported cases involving middle school and high school students increased nearly 500% over the past 10 days. Staff absences districtwide, which have been running between 700 and 800 per day, peaked at 1,048 on Jan. 21, according to LISD.
The district voluntarily closed and notified the county late Jan. 24, Richardson said.
Richardson said he hoped to see the peak of the omicron surge shortly after the new year began, but he anticipates a few more weeks of high case counts.
The rate at which people test positive continues to increase, as well. The positivity rate was about 5% at the end of November and is now reported at 33%, he said.
The positivity rate tells officials the omicron wave will continue, Richardson said.
“We still don't believe we’ve experienced quite yet the peak of omicron,” he said.
