Dallas County leaders urge people take extra precautions this Thanksgiving

DALLAS - With only 52 ICU beds in Dallas County and cases continuing to climb, Dallas County is urging people to take precautions this Thanksgiving.

The idea sounds laughable: if you feel you must invite someone to your home this Thanksgiving, plan to eat in silence. But medical experts agree for people not willing to celebrate virtually this Thanksgiving, it is an important precaution to take.

“We are in a dire situation in North Texas as in many parts of the country,” warned Dr. Mark Casanova, president of the Dallas County Medical Society. “We are seeing a clear increase in COVID-19 cases which are translating into an increase in hospitalizations.”

Despite that warning, Dr. Casanova says there are two big reasons to be thankful: Pfizer's success with its vaccine and a promising antibody treatment manufactured by Eli Lily.

“Essentially, it provides a plastic wrap coating around the virus, therefore, impeding it from entering our cells,” he explained.

But Dr. Casanova says it is not yet time to let your guard down. He says the increase in hospitalizations is concerning, especially with Thanksgiving in two weeks.

“At the end of day, we don't want more empty seats at the 2021 holiday table than there already are,” he said.

Dallas County Public Health Director Dr. Philip Huang told the county commissioners there are only 52 ICU beds available in Dallas County as of now.

“There is some surge capacity if we needed to go into that level,” Dr. Huang said.

Medical experts say the safest thing to do this Thanksgiving, as hard as it is to imagine, would be to celebrate by Zoom. But they also recognize many people will feel compelled to invite people who live alone to join them.

While not the safest option, Dr. Casanova recommends people who do choose to gather under a roof to eat in silence while they can't wear masks.

“Keep well ventilated. Separate physically for mealtime when you aren't wearing a mask. Play the quiet game. Put some money on it if you have to,” he said.

Unlike the waves that happened after Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, Dr. Casanova says the increase in cases we are seeing now does not appear to be directly tied to Halloween.

That is because the spike was occurring before the holiday and is likely due to a general fatigue of prevention measures like staying home and wearing masks.