Safer At Home order extended

Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 90 new cases of COVID-19 on April 21, bringing the total case count in Dallas County to 2,602. Officials also reported four COVID-19 related deaths, or 64 total deaths to date*.

Dallas County Commissioner Clay Jenkins underscored the commissioners’ decision to extend the Safer At Home order to May 15.

“The lower number today of new COVID19 positive cases is encouraging and we will watch closely to see if this is the beginning of a trend downward or a blip on the day we switch reporting to a new database system. Safer At Home was extended today for two weeks,” said Jenkins.  “This is necessary to keep you safe and stabilize non-essential movement as we bring businesses like ‘retail to go’ and others back.”

Commissioners John Wiley Price and J.J. Koch voted against extending the order. Both were in favor of a plan that allowed for reopening non-essential businesses and putting people back to work.

The Safer at Home order limits the number of people at public gatherings and encourages residents to only leave their homes for essential activities, including trips to buy food or for required medical care.

The reported deaths include:

• a Mesquite male in his 60s who was critically ill in an area hospital,
• a Duncanville male in his 70s who was critically ill in an area hospital,
• a Mesquite woman in her 50s who was critically ill in an area hospital,
• a Mesquite woman in her 90s who was critically ill in an area hospital.

Of cases requiring hospitalization, most (69%) have been either over 60 years of age or have had at least one known high-risk chronic health condition.

Diabetes has been an underlying high-risk health condition reported in about a third (30%) of all hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Most (69%) deaths have been male.

Over a third of the deaths have been associated with long-term care facilities.

* Numbers are updated at 10:00 AM daily.
Note: Does not include positive results from persons who reside out-of-state or outside of Dallas County.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]