Dallas County Health and Human Services reported two deaths and 327 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, today, Sep. 21 including two from August.  The total case count in Dallas County is 78,205 with 997 total deaths to date.

The total number of probable cases in Dallas County is 3,874, including 11 probable deaths from COVID-19.

The total new cases today include 177 from Texas Department of State Health Services in August (2) and September (175).

The additional two deaths being reported today in Dallas County are:

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.

A woman in her 50’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.

The provisional 7-day average daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 37 was 240, a decrease from the previous daily average of 279 for CDC week 36.. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 10.8% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 37 (week ending 9/12/2020).

A provisional total of 156 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 37 (week ending 9/12/2020), an increase from the previous week for this age group. The percentage of cases occurring in young adults aged 18 to 22 years has increased to 14% over the past 2 weeks.

Of the cases requiring hospitalization to date, more than two-thirds (66%) have been under 65 years of age, and over half reported having a chronic health condition. Diabetes has been an underlying high-risk health condition reported in about a third of all hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

“Today we’ve seen 325 new cases including 11 probable cases. Additionally, we have two older cases from a previous month and two deaths. The deaths today are of two people in their 50’s which is an important reminder that COVID-19 can be deadly in middle-aged populations. We’ve seen deadly cases in teenagers up through people in their 90’s and this does not account for people on ventilators or with very serious illnesses. This is a critical reason why it’s important that we all practice one hundred percent masking and at least six-foot social distancing as well as washing hands, avoiding unnecessary trips, and avoiding indoor activities where people are not masked one hundred percent of the time. 

With the weather getting cooler, those interested in a restaurant dining experience, should consider patio dining as preferable to indoor dining. Indoor spacing may become more difficult now that the percentage of occupancy in a restaurant has increased to seventy-five percent. It’s important that you check the spacing and protocols for businesses that you frequent to make sure that you can follow the guidelines at www.DallasCountyCOVID.org. Those guidelines require all persons not eating or drinking to be masked and for the tables to have six-foot separation.

Similarly, shopping may become more challenging as more people may return to retail establishments and so choosing the right time and businesses who achieve compliance with one hundred percent masking from patrons will be very important. As more kids go back to school, and occupancies increase, your vigilance in making good decisions to protect you, your family and public health is absolutely essential to keeping less people from getting sick, helping more businesses and jobs to thrive and more kids to get back to school sooner rather than later,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]