Denton County Reports 15 New Coronavirus Cases
DENTON (CBSDFW.COM) - Denton County Public Health has confirmed 15 new cases of coronavirus.
The announcement Tuesday evening brings the countywide total to 51.
Twenty-two cases are travel-related, while 21 are from local transmission. Five patients had contact with a confirmed case, and three cases are pending investigation. Most of the patients are in home isolation, and 15 are in the hospital.
Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 have reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Symptoms may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure. However, some patients can have more severe symptoms, complications, and/or death.
The most updated COVID-19 recommendations guide individuals with mild symptoms to stay home and self-isolate until all three of the following have happened:
You have had no fever for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicine.
Other symptoms have improved.
At least 7 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared.
The newest cases come after Denton County Judge Andy Eads announced a stay at home order for the county going into effect at midnight.
"Sometimes you have to decide between two bad choices, and I am choosing on the side of saving lives," said Eads.
The "stay at home" order means that residents will only be allowed to leave their homes for "essential" means, which can include grocery shopping, seeking medical attention or going to jobs that are still open.
Denton Mayor Chris Watts made an impassioned plea to the community, saying, "The flattening of the curve, us returning to normal behaviors and normal life, is going to depend on all of us doing what is right. It's going to depend on us staying in our homes and only going out when it's essential. That's why we made sure that the essential businesses stayed open, so that we could have what we need, so that we can continue to stay in our homes as much as possible because if we do not do that, then that's only going prolong this environment."
He continued, "It's going to prolong the hurt. It's going prolong the pain and sickness. Quite honestly, it's going to prolong the death of the community."
Dallas, Denton, Keller, Hunt, Tarrant and Rockwall counties have all issued "stay at home" orders.
