Dallas-Fort Worth health experts say that the increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations has significantly reduced. This comes after efforts to curb the spread of the virus locally.
According to a week-old forecast from UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas County was predicted to have 1,500 COVID-19 hospitalizations by Sept. 9, while hospitalizations in Tarrant County were expected to climb up to 1900. But now, the numbers have reduced, with Dallas County expected to have about 1,200 hospitalizations by Sept. 16 and Tarrant County predicted to have about 1,300.
The forecasters at UTSW attribute some of the reduction in hospitalization to masks as they say that surveys show that more North Texans are wearing masks in public. They also point to the rise in COVID-19 vaccinations. Nearly 50,000 doses were administered to residents of Dallas County on Aug. 22.
While the predicted rise in hospitalizations has gone down, hospitals in Dallas remain filled with COVID-19 patients. According to a written statement by County Judge Clay Jenkins on Monday, patients may have to wait longer for antibody treatments due to a surge in cases.
Jenkins also tried to give people a financial motivation to get vaccinated.
“With insurers reinstituting cost sharing for COVID, medical bills that would easily take up your entire deductible and maximum out of pocket are yet another reason to accept a free vaccine that is safe and effective,” he said.
According to the latest forecast model from UT Southwestern Medical Center, there is an expected rise in the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations for several more weeks.
In the last week, Dallas County reported 8,624 new coronavirus cases with forty-two deaths. Of the newly reported cases, 7,335 were confirmed, while 1,289 were probable. When added to the previous cases of 340,244, the county’s overall cases now total 348,868.
