As of Thursday afternoon, Dec. 23, the active COVID-19 case count had increased to 627 for Ellis County, with the death count at 490 since the pandemic’s onset in March 2020. The active case and death counts are reported on the Texas Department of State Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard. The county reported 19 COVID-19-related hospitalizations as of Wednesday, Dec. 22.
The first case of COVID-19 was reported by Ellis County on March 17, 2020, with the active case count peaking at about 1,340 on Jan. 15, 2021. By late June, the county’s active case had dipped into the 50s before a summer surge saw 924 active cases reported Sept. 3, 2021.
As of Dec. 23, the DSHS data dashboard showed the following data for Ellis County:
• Confirmed cases to date – 27,408
• Probable cases to date – 7,509
• Fatalities to date – 490
• Active cases – 627
• Recoveries to date – 33,829
Total tests to date – 312,537
Ellis County hospital data (last updated Dec. 22):
• Total bed count: 235
• Total beds occupied: 197
• Total ICU bed count – 18 (typically at 18)
• Total ICU occupied – 16
• COVID-19 patients in the ICU – 6
• COVID-19 patients in MedSurg – 13
Waxahachie ISD showed 15 active cases on its Friday, Dec. 17, report, with all campuses reporting zero cases or less than 4% of a combined student and staff population as active cases. WISD is now closed for its annual winter break, with students slated to return to class Thursday, Jan. 6.
According to the nonprofit Covid Act Now, Ellis County remains below the state average in the number of fully vaccinated people: 49.6vs. 56.6%.
Here is Ellis County’s comparison to the state average in three key metrics as of Dec. 23:
• daily new cases – 25 per 100K vs. 28.8 per 100K
• infection rate – 1.38 vs. 1.29
• positive test rate – 12% vs. 9.3%
Covid Act Now lists Ellis County as “high” and the state of Texas as “very high” risk on its vulnerability level. The Covid Act Now dashboard is online at https://covidactnow.org/.