Dallas County Health and Human Services reported six deaths and 832 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, today, Oct 30.  The county has reported 1,114 total deaths to date. The total confirmed cases are 96,072.

The county is also reporting a total of 5,811 probable cases and 14 probable deaths.

The total new cases include 288 from Texas Department of State Health Services, all in October.

The additional six deaths reported today are:

A woman in her 40’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 50’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 60’s who was a resident of the City of Richardson. 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 a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. He had been critically ill in 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 Garland. She 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 Cedar. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high risk health conditions.

The city of Sachse reported two more positive cases today; a 23-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man from Dallas County. The city has recorded 416 positive cases to date.

The provisional 7-day average daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 42 was 588, the highest daily average since July. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high, with 14.2% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 42.

A provisional total of 493 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 42, about twice the number of children diagnosed in this age group 3 weeks earlier.

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 as part of determining the COVID-19 Risk Level (color-coded risk) and corresponding guidelines for activities during our COVID-19 response. There were 442 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Thursday, October 29. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 430 for the 24-hour period ending on Thursday, October 29, which represents about 19 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 are slightly lower than the previous two days, UTSW forecasting predicts hospitalization levels of between 460-830 by November 6. Local hospitals also have patients that have been hospitalized for extensive periods due to complications from COVID. These patients are not reflected in current numbers but illustrate the expansive impact of this pandemic on our hospital systems and health care workers.

“Today is our highest number of new COVID-19 positive cases since August 14 and we have six deaths. This is a stark reminder of the importance of following the protocols that we know will keep us safe. We know what to do, we just need to find the resolve to do it. If we do not turn these numbers around, we will be facing all time high numbers at Thanksgiving and we do not want to start the cold weather months when people are indoors at all-time high numbers. Please avoid trick-or-treating this Halloween and find fun family activities with those you live with. Wear your mask and avoid crowds. It’s up to all of us to flatten the curve so that less people will get sick, fewer will pay the ultimate price, and our economy and schools can survive and thrive,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]