On Oct. 19, 9% of North Texas hospital beds were filled with COVID-19 patients.
Prior to this week, July 31 was the last time less than 10% of the hospital beds in Trauma Service Area E, which consists of 19 counties in North Texas, including Collin and Denton counties, were occupied by confirmed COVID-19 patients, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services dashboard. The Oct. 19 total marks a 55% decrease from the 20% of hospital beds occupied by confirmed COVID-19 patients Sept. 20. The Collin County dashboard lists 178 hospitalized COVID-19 patients out of the county’s 2,702-hospital bed capacity as of Oct. 20. The Denton County dashboard showed it had more than 13% of its available beds filled by COVID-19 patients as of Oct. 20.
Collin County announced in August 2020 that it would no longer report city-specific coronavirus information. Plano stopped providing city-specific COVID-19 information July 1. As of Oct. 18, there have been 222 total cases reported in Denton County’s portion of Plano, according to the Denton County dashboard. All but 21 of those cases have been classified as recovered, the dashboard shows.
In Collin County, there have been 104,200 confirmed cases and 1,097 deaths, though 1,509 cases were estimated as active as of Oct. 20 on the DSHS dashboard. In Denton County, 106,088 were confirmed to have had the virus as of Oct. 18, and 700 were confirmed dead. The Denton County dashboard listed 13,954 cases as active Oct. 18.
In Plano ISD, 57 students and 14 employees were listed with current cases, according to the district’s dashboard, which was last updated Oct. 20. Those totals amount to 0.12% of district students and 0.27% of staff members, according to the dashboard.
Nearly 71% of the estimated population in two of the six main ZIP codes in Plano has been fully vaccinated, according to totals from the DSHS.
The 75024 and 75093 ZIP codes have the highest percentage of fully vaccinated residents with almost 71% each as of Oct. 18. The 75074 ZIP code has the lowest percentage with just over 56% of the estimated population listed as fully vaccinated. More than 71% of Collin County residents age 12 and older have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Oct. 20, according to the DSHS COVID-19 vaccination dashboard. In Denton County, that number sits at more than 65%.
The dashboard shows a combined estimate of nearly 1.1 million people in the two counties are reported as being fully vaccinated. The DSHS estimates show there are close to 1.5 million residents age 16 and older in Collin and Denton counties, although vaccine appointments are not limited to county residents.
Nearly 33 million doses have been administered across Texas, and more than 15 million people have been fully vaccinated since manufacturers began shipping vials to the state in December, according to the DSHS dashboard.
COVID-19 testing continues to be available throughout North Texas. In Plano, there are numerous test sites that offer both drive-thru and walk-in appointments through local pharmacies and clinics. An interactive map of the available testing sites in Plano and the surrounding area can be found at this link.
COVID-19 tests are available at no cost nationwide at health centers and select pharmacies due to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, including for those who do not have insurance.
Appointments are required for most COVID-19 testing sites.
Information about the COVID-19 vaccine and where to get vaccinated is available at www.vaccines.gov. Collin County Health Care Services announced July 27 the creation of mobile vaccination teams. Residents can request appointments for the free shots. Denton County Public Health has an interest portal for vaccines on its webpage and allows individuals to schedule appointments.
