Dallas County Health and Human Services reported three deaths, and 190 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, today, Sep. 15.  The total case count in Dallas County is 75,838 with 979 total deaths to date.

The total number of probable cases in Dallas County is 3,636, including 11 probable deaths from COVID-19.

The total new cases today include 151 from Texas Department of State Health Services in April (1), May (1), June (5), July (39), August (22) and September (83).

The city of Sachse reported two new COVID-positive cases. Case 267 is a 30-year-old woman in Dallas County and case 268 is a 39-year-old woman in Collin County.

The additional three deaths being reported today in Dallas County include the following:

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 woman in her 80’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She had been hospitalized, and had underlying high risk health conditions.

A woman in her 80’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She had been critically ill in an area hospital, and did not have underlying high risk health conditions.

The provisional 7-day average daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 36 was 270, slightly increased from the previous CDC week 35’s daily average of 303. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high with 10.8% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 36.

A provisional total of 136 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 36 (week ending 9/5/2020), a decline from the previous two weeks for this age group. Since Aug 27, 34 cases of COVID-19 have been reported associated with multiple youth hockey teams in the DFW area, including 5 coaches. The percentage of cases occurring in young adults aged 18 to 22 years has doubled since May, increasing to 15% over the past 2 weeks.

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 25% 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. Today’s report has not been realeased yet.

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 322 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Monday, September 14. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 294 for the 24-hour period ending on Monday, September 14, which represents around 14 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 numbers are much lower than yesterday at 122 new cases and 68 old cases, a reminder why you can’t put too much stock in one day’s total but rather must look at seven and 14 day rolling averages. The seven-day provisional rolling average for new confirmed cases and probable cases, collected by date of test, for CDC week 36 which ended on September 5th was 270, a decrease from the previous CDC week average of 303. This rolling average is the most accurate number we have of weekly averages although it lags by several days.

The percentage of cases occurring in young adults aged 18-22 years has doubled since May, increasing to 15% over the past two weeks. As we see more cases in young people, it’s important to remember that COVID-19 can be a very serious illness for people of any age and its long-term effects are unknown. Therefore, it’s important for all of us, whether child or adult, to wear a mask whenever around others outside our family unit and maintain six foot distance. Doctors also strongly recommend we wash our hands frequently, avoid unnecessary crowds, and avoid any indoor activity where people are not wearing their mask one hundred percent of the time. If we all continue to make smart decisions, we’ll see less people get sick from COVID-19, more businesses thrive, and get more kids back to school,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]