Face masks and social distancing have worked so far but we’re not out yet
Note: this post was based on information provided by the county on December 15, 2020. Statistics provided by the county on December 17, 2020 offer a clearer picture. The update appears at https://waxahachie360.com/waxahachie-covid-19-cases-up-150-in-two-days/.
Cases of COVID-19 in Waxahachie fell since last week, and one of the 18 locally-available ICU beds became available after the City of Waxahachie enacted virus containment measures to clamp down on rising infection rates in the city.
According to statistics posted December 15, 2020 on the Ellis County COVID-10 dashboard, the total active cases of COVID-19 in Waxahachie fell from 142 the week before to 86, a 39% decline.
Additionally, of the 18 ICU beds available in Ellis County for treating patients who are experiencing life-threatening symptoms from the novel coronavirus, 17 are occupied and one is now open. Of those 17 patients in ICU, 13 are COVID-19 patients, or 72%.
The total COVID-19 related deaths in Waxahachie rose from 55 to 58 in the last week. The number of total active cases in Ellis County is 296.
The occupancy of all the available hospital beds in the area remains unchanged at 84%.
On December 3, 2020 after area hospitals reached 15% of their capacity with COVID-19 patients for seven consecutive days, the City of Waxahachie rolled back the easing of COVID-19 restrictions that allowed restaurants to have higher occupancy, thus limiting restaurants to just 50% occupancy and postponing elective medical procedures.
According to the CDC, wearing a face mask when out in public, social distancing and avoiding crowds continue to be the most important measures that everyone can practice to contain the spread of the coronavirus until a vaccine is available to Waxahachie residents sometime next year.
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