The percentage of North Texas hospital beds filled with COVID-19 patients March 29 was the lowest total since the collection of that data began in April 2020.
The 1.53% total is a more than 70% decrease in the percentage of hospital beds in Trauma Service Area E occupied by confirmed COVID-19 patients since Feb. 28, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services dashboard. The trauma service area consists of 19 counties in North Texas, including Collin and Denton counties. The Feb. 28 total was 5.2% of hospital beds occupied by confirmed COVID-19 patients.
According to data from the DSHS, there were 1,134 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals as of March 29, which is a more than 68% decrease from the 3,577 patients Feb. 28.
The Collin County dashboard lists 58 hospitalized COVID-19 patients out of the county’s 2,702-hospital bed capacity as of March 30. The Denton County dashboard showed it had 1.4% of its available beds filled by COVID-19 patients as of March 30.
As of that date, there have been 287 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.
Community transmission levels of the virus continue to be low in Denton County, Public Health Director Dr. Matt Richardson said during the March 29 county commissioners meeting.
It seems case counts have reached a plateau, Richardson said. Each week, about 100 new cases are reported in the county, he said.
In Collin County, there have been 158,008 confirmed cases and 1,492 deaths, according to the DSHS dashboard. In Denton County, 178,987 were confirmed to have had the virus as of March 30, and 822 were confirmed dead. The Denton County dashboard listed 2,811 cases as active March 30.
In Plano ISD, 16 students and two employees were listed with current cases, according to the district’s dashboard, which was last updated March 30. Those totals amount to 0.03% of district students and 0.04% of staff members, according to the dashboard.
More than 62% of the estimated population in all six of the main ZIP codes in Plano have been fully vaccinated, according to totals from the DSHS. The 75024 ZIP code has the highest percentage of fully vaccinated residents with just over 80% as of March 28. The 75023 ZIP code has the lowest percentage with more than 62% of the estimated population listed as fully vaccinated.
More than 81% of Collin County residents age 5 and older have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of March 30, according to the DSHS COVID-19 vaccination dashboard. In Denton County, that number sits at nearly 74%.
The dashboard shows a combined estimate of more than 1.2 million people in the two counties reported as being fully vaccinated. More than 43 million doses have been administered across Texas, and more than 17 million people have been fully vaccinated since manufacturers began shipping vials to the state in December 2020, according to the DSHS dashboard.
COVID-19 testing continues to be available throughout North Texas. In Plano, there are numerous test sites 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.
Information about the COVID-19 vaccine and where to get vaccinated is available at www.vaccines.gov.
