The January 8, 2021 COVID-19 update from the Ellis County COVID-19 dashboard shows a post holiday surge is in progress.
Ten days after the last update from the Ellis County COVID-19 dashboard and only one week since the holiday season ended, positive cases of COVID-19 have more than doubled in Waxahachie and throughout Ellis County.
The number of Ellis County residents currently infected by the novel coronavirus on January 8, 2021 has risen by 647 people to a total of 1,049 — a 161% increase since last week according to data from December 29, 2020.
In Waxahachie, positive COVID-19 cases have risen from 156 to 330 — a 112% increase.
Six more COVID-19-related deaths were also recorded in the last week in Waxahachie, bringing the total number of dead up to 68 since the novel coronavirus came to the city. Deaths related to COVID-19 in Ellis County altogether now total 196.
Midlothian currently has 245 positive cases, Ennis 178, and the Ovilla-Red Oak area has 160 positive cases.
In the local hospital network with a capacity of 29 ICU beds, 23 are occupied, and all 23 of those patients are suffering from COVID-19.
Among the 235 bed count capacity of the hospital network, 37 beds are available, which is an improvement compared to last week when only 26 beds were available.
News of Ellis County’s COVID-19 surge comes one day after Harris County health officials confirmed a new variant of coronavirus has been found in Texas. The new variant is considered to be 70% more transmissible than the current strain.
Prior to the holiday season, officials with the CDC held a news release event, asking Americans to avoid travel, to forego large family gatherings and altogether to scale back their usual holiday season activities, after positive case spikes that followed holidays previously in the year showed that a Christmas season surge was almost certain unless Americans changed their behavior.