Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 8 deaths, and 249 new positive cases of COVID-19, today, Sep. 3, as well as 1 case from months prior to August.  The total case count in Dallas County is 72,860 with 934 total deaths to date.

The total number of probable cases in Dallas County is 3,026, including 10 probable deaths from COVID-19.

The total new cases today include 122 from Texas Department of State Health Services in July (1) and August (121).

Sachse reported its 249^th posititve case, a 62-year-old man who resides in Collin County.

The additional 8 deaths being reported today include the following:

A man in his 50’s who was a resident of the City of Duncanville. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 50’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 50’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 60’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 60’s who was a resident of the City of Garland. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 70’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Lancaster. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 80’s who was a resident of the City of Garland. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 80’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. He had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

From August 8th through 21st, 393 school-aged children between 5 to 18 years of age were diagnosed with COVID-19 in Dallas County. About 50% of these cases were high school age. By zip code of residence, 203 (51%) of these children were projected to have been enrolled in Dallas ISD schools.

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 provisional 7-day average daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 34 was 226. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS CoV-2 continues to decline but remains high, with 11.3% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 34.

Of the total confirmed deaths reported to date, about 25% have been associated with long-term care facilities. New cases are being reported as a daily aggregate, with a more detailed summary report updated Tuesdays and Fridays.

Local health experts use hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and ER visits as three of the key indicators in determining the COVID-19 Risk Level (color-coded risk) and corresponding guidelines for activities during our COVID-19 response. There were 359 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Wednesday, September 2. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 454 in the 24 hour period ending on Wednesday, September 2, which represents around 20 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council. While these numbers represent a significant decline from record highs in July, the disruptive impact of COVID-19 on our populations and health care systems remains.

“The trends in Dallas County have been going well, and as a result, the color-coded risk chart moved for the first time from “Red” high-risk to “Orange” moderate-risk; however, as you can see from the eight deaths today and the numbers of new cases that we’ve seen this week, we are not where we need to be in our battle with COVID-19. 

In order to continue seeing the sort of gains that will get less people sick, get more businesses thriving, and more school children back in the classroom, we need to make smart decisions this Labor Day weekend. As you celebrate Labor Day, please do it responsibly. That means wearing a mask one hundred percent of the time when around people outside your household and maintaining six-foot distancing. It also means frequent hand washing, avoiding unnecessary exposures, and should you have people over to your house or go to their house, wear your mask at all times when not eating or drinking. When you are eating and drinking, please ensure that you do that six feet away from people outside your family unit. If we all make smart decisions this weekend, we won’t see the sort of sharp rise in cases that we experienced after Memorial Day. It’s up to all of us flatten the curve and the best way to do that is to wear a mask and avoid unnecessary exposures,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]