Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 1 death and 5,361 new cases of COVID-19 on Aug. 15, bringing the total case count in Dallas County to 63,428 with 825 total deaths to date.

Of the 5,361 new cases we are reporting today, 5,195 came from a large volume of reports received yesterday through the Texas Department of State Health Services’ (DSHS) electronic laboratory reporting system. According to DSHS, this backlog of reports is due to coding errors and is beginning to be resolved through a recent system upgrade in their reporting system. The majority of the 5,361 cases received are from tests conducted in July. Please see a provisional breakdown below of these newly reported cases by date of collection:

Dallas County is  reporting one additional death today of a man in his 50’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins released the following statement today regarding today’s new cases:

“It is expected that there will be more batches of cases missed by the State’s system being reported in the coming days. All this reinforces the importance of self-isolating and following CDC guidance if you were tested and awaiting results. This also means isolating from your family and wearing a mask inside your home to keep them from getting infected in case you are positive for COVID-19. Because of the errors, none of these 5,195 cases had been revealed to our public health team had any tracing done on them. That’s why it’s important also if you know you’re COVID-19 positive to inform all those you’ve been in close contact with so that they can self-isolate. A close contact is anyone that you’ve been around for more than 15 minutes, 48 hours before the onset of your symptoms through your illness, whether or not both or either of you were masked during the time you were together. Also, I again want to reemphasize the importance of universal masking one hundred percent of the time. Others’ masks protect you and your mask protects others. If you choose not to wear a mask in a public setting or to wear your mask with your nose exposed, you are essentially saying thank you for protecting me but my convenience and comfort is more important than me protecting you. Please everyone wear your mask over your nose and properly fitted to your face when around people outside you home. Masking also does not do away with the requirement of six foot distancing, frequent hand washing, and avoiding those unnecessary trips for things other than work, essentials, and properly spaced outdoor exercise. Please avoid any activity where others are not masked one hundred percent of the time. We can do this North Texas and you are doing a great job. It’s important for those who are masking to keep it up and for those who are not masking one hundred percent of the time to step up. When it comes to masking, all of us must move from selfishness to community sacrifice for less people to get sick, more businesses to stay open and our kids to get back to school and activities sooner rather than later.”

Over 2,925 children under 18 years of age have been diagnosed with confirmed COVID-19 since July 1st, including 66 children who have been hospitalized for COVID-19.

Of all confirmed cases requiring hospitalization to date, more than two-thirds have been under 65 years of age. Diabetes has been an underlying high-risk health condition reported in about a third of all hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with about 13.8% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 32.

Of the total confirmed deaths reported to date, about 28% have been associated with long-term care facilities.

Note: Does not include positive results from persons who reside out-of-state or outside of Dallas County.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]