Dallas County Health and Human Services reported no deaths and 382 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, today, Oct 19.  The county has reported 1,085 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 90,318.

The county is also reporting a total of 4,631 probable cases and 13 probable deaths.

The total new cases include 263 from Texas Department of State Health Services for September (2) and October (261).

The city of Sachse last updated its case count on Oct. 16.

The provisional 7-day average daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 41 was 453, an increase from the previous daily average of 383 for CDC week 40. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 12.6% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 40.

A provisional total of 390 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 41 (week ending10/03/2020), an increase of 32% from the previous week for this age group.

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. About 24% have been associated with long-term care facilities.

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. Due to weekend reporting, new data will be available on Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

“We’re seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases in our hospitals and in positive testing and now is a critical time for us to get the numbers going back in the right direction. We know what we need to do, we just need to do it.  Wear your mask and avoid crowds. Maintain six-foot distancing and use good hand-washing practices. It’s up to all of us to flatten the curve and the best way to do that is to follow the advice of doctors that can be found at www.DallasCountyCOVID.org,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]