Dallas County Reports Two Deaths, 589 Total COVID-19 Cases Today
DALLAS — As of 2:00 pm October 21, 2020, Dallas County Health and Human Services is reporting 589 additional positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Dallas County for a cumulative total of 91,313 confirmed cases (PCR test), including 1,091 confirmed deaths.
There are 66 additional probable cases (antigen test) to report today for a total of 4,735 probable cases including 13 probable deaths. Of the 523 confirmed cases we are reporting today, 273 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 |
272 |
The additional 2 deaths being reported today include the following:
- A man in his 70’s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. He had been hospitalized, and had underlying high risk health conditions.
- A woman in her 90’s who was a resident of the City of Cedar Hill. She 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).
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 435 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Tuesday, October 20.
The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 411 for the 24 hour period ending on Tuesday, October 19, which represents around 16 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 social activities outside the home.
“Today’s numbers continue an increase in the number of COVID-19 positive cases that we’re seeing in both confirmed (PCR) and probable (antigen) tests. We are seeing an increase in COVID-19 bed utilization at our hospitals and we are back to the highest numbers that we’ve seen since August in four of our hospital systems.
It is not a time to lose our resolve. Things will get better. We will get a vaccine but it’s imperative that we all wear our masks and avoid large crowds for now. We know what to do, we just need to do it and we need to do it now before we find ourselves in a terrible place for the holidays, winter and the beginning of spring. I know there’s a lot of COVID-19 fatigue setting in out there but now is not the time to relax your standards. Focus on what is safe as determined by the doctors and not what is legal,” 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 Guidance for Individuals at High-Risk for Severe COVID-19
