Dallas County Returns To CODE RED With COVID-19 Spike

Dallas County Reports 493 New Positive 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases

DALLAS — Dallas County Health and Human Services reports 504 additional positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Dallas County for a cumulative total of 87,835 confirmed cases, including 1,058 confirmed deaths.

There are 50 additional probable cases to report today for a total of 4,424 probable cases including 13 probable deaths. Of the 454 new confirmed cases we are reporting today, 258 came through the Texas Department of State Health Services’ (DSHS) electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) system, and 11 are from September. Please see a provisional breakdown below of these newly reported cases by date of collection:

The additional death being reported today includes the following:

• 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 40 was 374, an increase from the previous daily average of 346 for CDC week 39. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 remains high with 10.0% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 40 (week ending 10/3/20). A provisional total of 283 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 40, an increase from the previous week in this age group.

There were 367 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Tuesday, October 13. The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 431 for the 24 hour period ending on Tuesday, October 13, which represents around 15 percent of all emergency department visits in the county according to information reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council. The number of hospitalized patients continues to rise in the county and across North Texas.

Judge Jenkins Says Voting Is Not affected By ‘Red’ Level

“Today we see another high number of new COVID-19 cases with the numbers today being 454 confirmed cases and 50 probable cases for a total of 504 additional cases. The increase in hospitalizations, and new COVID-19 positive cases, as well as other metrics like the R-naught factor being above 1 for several weeks, has led the Public Health Committee to recommend a return to ‘Red’ on our color-coded chart, which can be found at www.DallasCountyCovid.org.

With a new and quickly escalating wave of COVID-19 cases hitting North Texas, it is more important than ever that we make good decisions. Things that doctors recommend as safe and permissible in ‘Orange,’ they recommend against in ‘Red.’ These things include dining in restaurants and personal grooming services, among other activities.

One activity that is not affected by the move to ‘Red’ is voting. We’ve already had two elections, a primary and a runoff election during COVID-19, both of which took place under a ‘Red’ (Stay Home Stay Safe) recommendation from the Public Health Committee. There has been no known spread from voting or cases attributed back to polling places and this we believe is due to the extraordinary measures everyone is taking to keep you safe at the polls. Your fellow voters are wearing their masks and the County has spent millions of dollars on disinfectants, plexiglass screens and other precautions to ensure that voters are safe. You can go to www.DallasCountyVotes.org to see a color-coded map that shows which polls are least crowded and where voting can be done quickly and also download a sample ballot too.

The color-coded chart from the Public Health Committee is intended not to tell you what is legal, but rather what is safe. I encourage businesses and individuals to look at the color-coded chart to determine what activities are recommended by doctors who specialize in the fields of infectious disease, public health and epidemiology. There is also a School Health Committee that has set out recommendations for parents as far as in-person vs. virtual school learning options and extracurricular activities by color-coded chart as well.

We encourage everyone to make their best decisions: wear your mask, maintain six-foot distance, and avoid large crowds. We must reverse the trend now while we have pleasant weather outside and an opportunity to do activities outside. We know that when people are forced inside with COVID-19, such as when it gets too cold for people to enjoy the outdoors later in the winter, the chance for spread increases due to the poor circulation of indoor air and there’s less sunlight to kill virus remnants left on handles and other surfaces,” 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