Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 10 deaths and 4,285 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, Nov 28 and 29.  The county reported 1,209 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 126,006.

The county is also reporting a total of 12,090 probable cases and 32 probable deaths.

The additional deaths today include:

A woman in her 40’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She had been hospitalized 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 Mesquite. 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 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 Lancaster. He had been hospitalized and had underlying high risk health conditions.

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

A man in his 90’s who was a resident of the City Dallas. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

The city of Sachse reported 26 new COVID-19 positive cases over the weekend, bringing their total to 708 positive cases. In Dallas County these include a 4, 16, 20, 39, 42, 44, 44, 46, 53, 77 and 80-year-old females and a 22, 25, 38, 39, 46, 57, 61, 69, and 70-year-old males. Collin County positive cases include a 12, 27, 40 and 45-year-old females and 40 and 52-year-old males

The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 46 has increased to 1,405, which is a rate of 53.3 daily new cases per 100,000 residents—the highest case rate in Dallas County since the beginning of the pandemic. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 has increased, with 17.0% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 46 (week ending 11/14/20).

A provisional total of 1,282 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 46, a three-fold increase from 5 weeks earlier (week ending 10/10/20). Since November 1, there have been 3,630 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from over 632 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County, including 393 staff members. A total of 1,282 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 46 — which is 50% more than the number of cases in this age group reported during the second highest peak week of cases in July (Week 28). Since November 1, there have been over 130 COVID-19 cases in children and staff reported from 97 separate daycares in Dallas County.

Over the past 30 days, there have been over 818 COVID-19 cases reported from 90 separate long-term care facilities, including 309 staff members. This is the highest number of long-term care facilities with active outbreaks reported in Dallas County since the beginning of the pandemic. Of these cases, 48 have been hospitalized and 29 have died, including 2 deaths of staff members. Twenty active clusters of cases in congregate-living facilities (homeless shelters, group homes, and halfway homes) have been reported in the past 30 days associated with 167 cases, including one facility this past week with 81 confirmed 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 23% 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.

Due to the observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, Dallas County will not be releasing COVID-19 data on Thursday, November 26 or Friday, November 27. Reporting will resume Saturday, November 28.

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 764 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Tuesday, November 24. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 508 for the same time period, which represents around 20 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council.

Dallas County Judge issued the following statement Sunday afternoon:

“Today we report 3,303 new cases and six deaths but keep in mind this is all COVID-19 positive cases reported Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. When you spread that out over the three days, it’s actually lower number than we’ve been averaging for the last week and probably indicates less people getting tested as most testing facilities were closed Thursday and Friday. We’ll have more accurate numbers again on Tuesday and Wednesday and begin to see any effects from the Thanksgiving holiday by next Friday and into the weekend with a full realization of any uptick manifesting itself by the following weekend.

In the meantime, it’s important that we continue to look for things to be thankful for and keep our spirits up. Now is the time for patriotism and sacrifice for the greater good of your community, your state and your country. The smart decisions and unselfish decisions that you make may save lives that you don’t even know or may spare your family and loved ones heartache. So please everyone wear your mask, avoid crowds, and forgo those get-togethers until we can get these numbers under control, and beyond that, have a great Thanksgiving Sunday.”

From Staff Reports • [email protected]