WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — The Wichita Falls-Wichita County Public Health District reported Friday one new COVID-19 related deaths.

The COVID-19 related death reported by the Health District on Friday was a patient in their 30’s at the time of death.

8 COVID-19 related deaths were reported in Wichita County for the week ending on January 7.

Case 23,069 (80s); Case 23,302 (70s)- vaccinated Pfizer; Case 23,162 (70s); Case 23,922 (60s); Case 23,214 (60s); Case 22,755 (60s); Case 23,924 (70s); and Case 24,126 (30s) bring the total number of COVID-19 related deaths to 498 since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

Of the 8 deaths reported in the county this week, one patient was vaccinated with Pfizer.

For more information on COVID-19 related deaths and how they are reported, click here. Please find the age breakdown of COVID-19 related deaths in Wichita County to date below:

0-5	6-10	11-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60-69	70-79	80+
0	0	0	5	12	19	41	127	123	171

New Cases in Wichita County

The Health District also reported Friday 232 new COVID-19 cases in the county. bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Wichita County to date to 25,042.

To date, Wichita County has had 556 re-infections (up 229). There are also a total of 1,765 vaccine breakthrough cases (up 237).

Of the 237 vaccine breakthrough cases this week, 37 received a booster/third dose.

Hospitalizations in Wichita County

The Health District also reported Friday 47 hospitalizations in Wichita County, an increase of 7 from the 40 hospitalizations reported Thursday, January 6, 2022.

Of the 47 hospitalized patients reported on Friday, 9 are in critical condition.

Please find the hospitalization report below:

	0-5	6-10	11-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60-69	70-79	80+	TOTAL
*Stable*	0	0	0	2	3	1	7	12	7	6	38
*Critical*	0	0	0	0	2	2	1	4	0	0	9

Of the 47 individuals hospitalized today, 14 are vaccine breakthrough cases (1 is also a re-infection).

Active Cases in Wichita County

The Public Health District is reporting 1648 active COVID-19 cases currently in Wichita County, with 1601 recovering at home and 47 hospitalized.

Below is a breakdown of Wichita County active cases by city:

Wichita Falls — 1345 active cases
Burkburnett — 142 active cases
Iowa Park — 119 active cases
Electra — 42 active cases

Weekly Breakdown in Wichita County

For the week ending January 7, 2022, there are 8 COVID-19 related deaths, 1,302 new cases, 47 hospitalizations, and 593 new recoveries.

The positivity rate for the week ending on November 19 was 35%.

The percentage of new cases who were not vaccinated is 82%.

Date	New Cases	Deaths	Hospitalized
01/03	350	3	28
01/04	225	2	37 (+9)
01/05	247	2	35 (-2)
01/06	248	0	40 (+5)
01/07	232	1	47 (+7)
*Total*	*1,302*	8	*+19*

Lou Kreidler, Director of Public Health, said in Tuesday’s Wichita Falls City Council meeting the spike in cases is likely due to the omicron variant.

“Even though we haven’t identified it yet through sequence testing here in our community, I can almost guarantee that omicron is here in our community,” Kreidler said.

Kreidler said in most vaccinated patients, omicron is proving to be a milder disease, causing fewer deaths and hospitalizations overall.

“We’re seeing a lot of spread,” Kreidler said. “I expect we’ll continue to see a spike of cases in our community, especially given our vaccination rate is so low.”