DALLAS –“Today we have 1,640 new COVID cases and three deaths. The numbers that we have today should be accurate numbers as all reporting agencies are back online with regular reporting after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Dr. Birx, head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, issued a November 22 report, sent to the Governor, discussing the importance of limiting crowd size and testing. We need not wait for action at the state level. We can all make a decision to limit our exposures now by avoiding in-home get-togethers, masking whenever around people outside of our home, and forgoing crowded experiences. We must stop looking at our neighbors with contempt for their perceived shortcomings in keeping our community safe, and instead focus on what we can do to get a little bit better as we all renew our strength towards shared sacrifice and patriotism.
This will make our community and country stronger for a little while longer as we await the broad dissemination of a vaccine. Forgoing restaurant dining in lieu of take-out, delivery or uncrowded patio dining, forgoing indoor workouts and taking your exercise outside, and utilizing curbside pickup in lieu of shopping in a crowded grocery store, are all ways that we can get a little safer not just for ourselves but for people that we don’t even know.
Dr. Birx also mentioned testing which is very important. It is recommended by Dr. Birx and others that if you have been around crowds last week, that you get tested and there are ample opportunities for testing in Dallas County. The County offers free testing at several drive-through and walk up locations. A comprehensive list of public and private testing locations can be found at www.DallasCountyCOVID.org. Please also check that site for the latest recommendations from local doctors and everyone work towards getting just a little bit safer as we work together to protect one another this holiday season,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
1640 New COVID-19 Cases In Dallas County
As of 12:00 pm December 2, 2020, Dallas County Health and Human Services is reporting 1,640 additional positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Dallas County, 1,407 confirmed cases and 233 probable cases.
There is a cumulative total of 129,193 cases (PCR test), including 1,221 confirmed deaths. There is a cumulative total of 12,424 probable cases (antigen test), including 36 probable deaths.
The additional deaths being reported today include the following:
- A woman in her 40’s who was a resident of the City of Lancaster. She 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 Duncanville. She had been critically ill in an area hospital, and did not have any underlying high risk health conditions.
- A woman in her 70’s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She had been hospitalized, and had underlying high risk health conditions.
The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 47 was to 1,347, which is a rate of 51.1 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 has increased, with 17.3% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 47 (week ending 11/21/20).
Since November 1, there have been 4,907 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from over 704 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County, including 550 staff members. A total of 1,157 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 47 — which is 50% more than the number of cases in this age group reported during the highest week of cases during July (Week 28). Thirteen K-12 schools in Dallas County have initiated temporary closures of their campuses to in-person instruction for this week due to COVID-19 cases. Since November 1, there have been over 134 COVID-19 cases in children and staff reported from 101 separate daycares in Dallas County.
There are currently 95 active long-term care facility outbreaks. This is the highest number of long-term care facilities with active outbreaks reported in Dallas County since the beginning of the pandemic. Over the past 30 days, a total of 798 COVID-19 cases have been reported from these facilities, including 309 staff members. Of these cases 44 have been hospitalized, and 27 have died, including 2 deaths of staff members. Twenty-two outbreaks of COVID-19 in congregate-living facilities (e.g. homeless shelters, group homes, and halfway homes) have been reported in the past 30 days associated with 168 cases, including one facility with 87 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
There were 800 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Tuesday, December 1. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 575 for the same time period, which represents around 21 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council.
Additionally, Table 8 below is from the December 1, 2020 Dallas County Health and Human Services 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Summary. Table 8 is a summary of confirmed and probable cases and deaths since late June in Dallas County.
