Dallas County Health and Human Services reported four deaths and 645 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, Nov 17.  The county reported 1,147 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 111,174.

The county is also reporting a total of 10,186 probable cases and 20 probable deaths.

The additional deaths today include:

A woman in her 60’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.

A man in his 60’s who was a resident of the City of Farmers Branch. He had been critically illin 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 anarea hospital and had 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 anarea hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

The city of Sachse reported 8 new COVID-19 cases today. Total cases are now at 586 in the city. The Collin County case is a 31-year-old woman. The Dallas County cases include an 18, 61 and 77-year old woman, a 12-year-old boy and a 27, 35 and 72-year-old man.

The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 45 has increased to 958 – a rate of 37.4 new cases daily per 100,000 residents. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 has increased to 15.3% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 45 (week ending 11/7/20). A provisional total of 843 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 45, an increase of 37% from the previous week. During this past week, ten K-12 schools in Dallas County have initiated temporary closures of their campuses to in-person instruction due to COVID-19 cases.

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. New cases reported as a daily aggregate will be available on Tuesday. There were 691 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Monday, November 16. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 489 for the same time period, which represents around 23 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council. Hospitalizations continue to increase rapidly within the county and across the region.

“Today the County reports an additional 645 COVID-19 cases. There have been problems with the State’s electronic laboratory reporting system in the past and today it appears the system is reporting artificially low numbers to several counties. In the meantime, there is little reason to believe that if the full numbers were reported, they would be different than the trend we’ve been seeing for the last several days or the projections that the medical modelers have made for North Texas. 

Please think about your routine, both at work and at home, and think of ways that you can avoid crowds. If you’ve been going to the grocery store, consider curbside pick-up or delivery. Forgo in-restaurant dining experiences and in-home get-togethers. When people visit your home who you do not live with, please ensure that everyone including you wears a mask during the time that your visitors are there, and if you are going to take your mask off to eat or drink, please take the opportunity to do that in an outdoor setting with appropriate spacing. It’s imperative that we stop our increased gatherings. The number one cause of spread at this time are in-home gatherings with friends and family.

COVID won’t be with us forever. The vaccines are very promising and will be here soon, but wishing that it would go away and pretending that things are better than they are will not work. We must all come together in a spirit of community sacrifice, forgoing those few things we would like to do that the doctors tell us are not safe, for the good of ourselves, our families, our community and our economy for just a little while longer. North Texas always rises to the challenge and I know we can do it again, so please make your best decisions. The decisions we make today, individually and collectively, will determine where we are next week and the week after that,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]