Dallas County Health and Human Services reported three deaths and 704 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, today, Sep. 24.  The total case count in Dallas County is 79,426 with 1,005 total deaths to date.

The total number of probable cases in Dallas County is 3,878, including 11 probable deaths from COVID-19.

The total new cases today include 692 from Texas Department of State Health Services in June (259), July (303), August (1) and September (129).

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

A woman in her 60’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and did not have underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 70’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and did not have underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 90’s who was a resident of the City of Carrollton. 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 257, a decrease from the previous daily average of 294 for CDC week 36. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 10% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 37.

A provisional total of 179 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 have a lot of older cases being reported which inflates our total number but the new cases reported today are 141. Sadly, we report three more deaths. Texas surpassed California to have the second most COVID-19 cases behind only New York last week, and is on pace to surpass New Jersey soon for the second most number of deaths, again only behind New York.

 Although we are concerned about the numbers in surrounding counties and how that will affect us, and although there are other parts of the state that are seeing upticks, Dallas County is still considered flat by the medical modelers and doctors who are looking at it. Our improvement has stopped but we have not seen an increase over a 7 or 14 day period in the metrics that the doctors look at. It’s particularly important during this time where we are seeing the reemergence and increase of COVID-19 in other counties and regions of Texas, and considering the interconnectedness of all of us, that you continue to make the smart decisions that have led to good trends over the last two months here in Dallas County. Namely, wearing your mask and six-foot distancing and hand washing. That is a one-two-three punch. To be most effective, you must do all three. Also, avoiding unnecessary trips, and if you must make a trip to an indoor business, looking for times when a business won’t be crowded and looking for businesses that are in strict compliance with CDC and local health guidelines.

 Doctors strongly discourage going to bars or working out in gyms and remind us that it is wise to avoid any indoor event where masks cannot be worn one hundred percent of the time. For those who want to engage in events like dining out where masks cannot be worn one hundred percent of the time, doctors are strongly advocating for takeout, curbside, or patio dining in lieu of an indoor dining experience. Whether the curve stays flat, goes up, or goes down is largely up to all of us and the decisions that we make. Let’s put the community good over our selfish desires to do the few things that doctors are saying are not safe at this time and by doing that we can see less sickness, more businesses thrive and keep our residents employed, and get more of our kids back to school sooner rather than later” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]