Dallas County Health and Human Services reported six deaths and 868 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, Nov 5.  The county has reported 1,127 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 99,761.

The county is also reporting a total of 7,601 probable cases and 16 probable deaths.

The additional six deaths reported today are:

A man in his 40’s who was a resident of the City of Irving. 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 a long-term care facility in 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 Dallas. 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 woman in her 80’s who was a resident of the City of Grand Prairie. She 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 Garland. She had had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

The city of Sachse reported cases 443 through 452. These include a two-month-old girl, one-year-old girl,  33, 40 and 48 year-old women and 56 and 60 year-old men in Dallas County. The positive cases also include a three-year-old girl and an 11 and 16 year-old boy in Collin County.

The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 43 has increased to 733 — the highest daily average of new cases since July. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 has increased to 15.4% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 43 (week ending 10/24/20). A provisional total of 693 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 43 – over twice the numbers of children diagnosed in this age group 3 weeks earlier (CDC week ending 10/3/2020).

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. Of the total confirmed deaths reported to date, about 24% 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 as part of determining the COVID-19 Risk Level (color-coded risk) and corresponding guidelines for activities during our COVID-19 response. There were 480 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Wednesday, November 4. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 522 for the same time period, which represents around 21 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council. Due to a reporting omission, we believe these numbers are actually higher than reflected. Forecasting from UTSW still shows potential for substant ial growth in hospitalizations.

“Although there is some evidence that more people are renewing their diligence in wearing a mask and avoiding crowds, not enough of us are doing this and our numbers are continuing to rise. Today we have 868 new COVID-19 cases to report and six deaths. Those reported today who lost their lives range in ages from their 40’s to their 90’s. We know what to do, we just need to do it. With the weather being good, it’s a great time to get outside and avoid indoor crowds. We must all wear our mask everyday as part of our wardrobe when leaving the house. It’s up to all of us to flatten the curve, safe lives and strengthen our economy by doing the things that doctors have repeatedly told us are necessary to win the battle against COVID,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]