The number of active COVID-19 cases in Collin and Denton counties has continued on an upward trend in recent weeks, according to data from the state of Texas.
Collin County has 3,965 active cases of COVID-19 as of Dec. 15, according to state estimates. For comparison, on Nov. 5, the county's number of active cases was estimated to be 1,471.
In Denton County, the number of active cases was estimated to be 3,556 on Nov. 11. That number has more than doubled since then, with an estimated 9,357 active cases of COVID-19 on Dec. 15, according to county data.
In Plano, the speedy increase of new daily confirmed cases has slowed, but it continues to climb. In the seven-day period between Dec. 8-15, there were 792 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Plano. In the seven days prior, there were 742. Hospitalizations in Collin County have increased nearly 46% since Thanksgiving. As of Dec. 15, COVID-19 patients account for about 14% of hospitalized patients in Collin County and roughly 22% in Denton County. Collin County’s COVID-19 dashboard lists only hospitalizations since a November decision by Collin County commissioners to remove most data. Previous data for any metric other than daily hospitalizations cannot be accessed retroactively through the county’s dashboard or through public information requests, according to Collin County Public Information Officer Tim Wyatt.
For nearly every day over the last two weeks, COVID-19 hospitalized patients accounted for more than 15% of total hospital capacity in Trauma Service Area E, which consists of 19 counties in North Texas.
Per an October executive order issued by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, municipal governments are required to tighten restrictions for most businesses if COVID-19 patients occupy 15% or more of the available hospital beds for seven consecutive days in a specific Trauma Service Area.
On Dec. 3, when Trauma Service Area E passed the 15% threshold for seven consecutive days, restaurants and most businesses were required to reduce capacity from 75% to 50%, and bars were required to close. Businesses will be allowed to increase capacity once COVID-19 hospitalizations for the area are below 15% for seven days in a row.
In Texas, there were 14,569 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported Dec. 15, bringing the total since March to 1,352,489, according to the state's dashboard.
