Dallas County Reports 435 Additional COVID-19 Cases
DALLAS — As of 2:00 pm October 22, 2020, Dallas County Health and Human Services is reporting 435 additional positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Dallas County for a cumulative total of 91,664 confirmed cases (PCR test), including 1,093 confirmed deaths.
There are 84 additional probable cases (antigen test) to report today for a total of 4,819 probable cases including 14 probable deaths. Of the 351 confirmed cases we are reporting today, 291 came through the Texas Department of State Health Services’ (DSHS) electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) system, and only one was from an older month.
|
Month |
# of positive patients |
|
August |
1 |
|
October |
290 |
The additional 3 deaths being reported today include the following:
- A man in his 50’s who was a resident of the City of Garland. He had been critically ill in an area hospital.
- A woman in 70’s who was a resident of the City of Mesquite. She had been critically ill in an area hospital, and had underlying high risk health conditions.
- A man in his 90’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. He had been hospitalized, and had underlying high risk health conditions.
The provisional 7-day average daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 41 was 482, an increase from the previous daily average of 385 for CDC week 40. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 has increased to 11.3% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 41 (week ending 10/10/20). A provisional total of 406 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 41, which is over twice the numbers of children diagnosed in this age group 4 weeks earlier (CDC week ending 9/12/2020).
There were 440 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Wednesday, October 21. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 531 for the 24 hour period ending on Wednesday, October 21, 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. The impact of increasing hospitalizations places tremendous strain on our facilities and their staff, please consider the impacts on those around you including health care workers before engaging in social activities outside the home.
“We continue to see an increase in the number of confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases as well as an increase in our hospitalizations. We are back to the mid-August numbers for hospitalizations and that increase is placing a strain on our local hospitals, especially on their staff who have been tirelessly responding to COVID since March. The projections are that these numbers will keep increasing which is why we must act now to stop the spread. The actions you can take as an individual to reduce the spread are to stay home except for essential activities, wear a mask when around others, maintain six-foot distancing and wash your hands. We can do this North Texas but it’s up to all of us to take action now,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
All Dallas County COVID-19 Updates and Information can be found here: https://www.dallascounty.org/covid-19/ and all guidance documents can be found here: https://www.dallascounty.org/covid-19/guidance-health.php
Specific Guidance for the Public:
· Dallas County COVID-19 Related Health Guidance for the Public
· Dallas County Measures for Protecting An Institution’s Workforce from COVID-19 Infection: Employer/Employee Guidance
· Dallas County Guidance for Individuals at High-Risk for Severe COVID-19
