Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 11 deaths and 1,181 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, today, Sep. 25.  The total case count in Dallas County jumped to 80,605 with 1,016 total deaths to date.

The total number of probable cases in Dallas County is 3,880, including 11 probable deaths from COVID-19.

The total new cases today include 967 from Texas Department of State Health Services in April (24), May (139), June (399), July (301), August (21) and September (83).

The additional 11 deaths being reported today in Dallas County are:

A man in his 40’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 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 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 man in his 60’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 man in his 60’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He was found deceased at home and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 70’s who was a resident of the City of Cedar Hill. 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 the City of Irving. 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 the City of Dallas. He had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A man in his 80’s who was a resident of the City of Rowlett. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 90’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She expired in an area hospital ED and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 90’s who was a resident of the City of DeSoto. She expired in an area hospital ED and had underlying high risk health conditions.

The city of Sachse reported seven additional COVID-19 cases. The  293^rd case is a 16-year-old girl in Dallas County, 294 is a 63-year-old man, 295 is a 76-year-old woman and 296 is a 62-year-old woman all in Collin County. The 297th is a 53-year-old woman, 298 is a 26-year-old man and 299 is a 42-year-old man all from Dallas County.

The provisional 7-day average daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 38 was 296, an increase from the previous daily average of 258 for CDC week 37. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 11.9% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 38.

A provisional total of 225 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 38 (week ending 9/19/2020), 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% for the month of September.

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.

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 308 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Thursday, September 24. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 350 for the 24-hour period ending on Thursday, September 24, which represents around 15 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.

“Today’s COVID-19 numbers contain a lot of old cases and 295 new confirmed cases as well as two probable cases. We also report 11 new deaths today. The numbers from the just ending CDC week are concerning as the average number of cases per day has climbed for the first time in several weeks. The number of school-aged children diagnosed with COVID-19 has increased from the previous week, and our positivity rate, which had been going down for several weeks, has now shot back up to 11.9%. 

The County will remain in ‘orange’ at this time but it is very important that with some of the indicators now going in the wrong direction, that we focus on one hundred percent mask compliance when outside of our nuclear family. This includes when you have people over to your home or go visit in their home. Is it equally important that you maintain six-foot distance and frequent hand washing, and that you avoid unnecessary trips, and doctors strongly encourage you to avoid indoor activity where masks are not being worn one hundred percent of the time. Many outbreaks have been traced back to family get-togethers, birthday parties and backyard barbeques, so it is very important as people visit your home or you visit their home that you protect yourself and our community. If we put the community health above our own desire to not practice the simple things that doctors tell us will give us our best chance of protecting ourselves, our community and our economy, we can see less people getting sick, more businesses strengthening and job opportunities increasing, and more of our kids back in school safely,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]