Dallas County Reports 1,105 New Coronavirus Cases, 8 Deaths
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 1,105 additional positive cases of COVID-19 in Dallas County on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
Of those, 860 are confirmed cases and 245 are probable cases.
There is a cumulative total of 137,143 cases (PCR test), including 1,245 confirmed deaths after eight more announced on Tuesday, including a man in his 20s.
"The weather will be nice the next few days and I hope that everyone will be able to get outside and exercise at a six-foot distance. Remember that when you're not at home and inside any building, including your own office building, doctors strongly recommend that you be masked for the duration of the time that you're in the building," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins in a statement. "Also, remember that to the extent possible, all workers should try to telecommute during this time of high community spread.
Judge Jenkins reminded residents, "Now is a time for community sacrifice and patriotism as we work to keep not only ourselves safe but also people that we don't even know. That's what patriotism and making America strong is all about. I hope that you are having and will continue to have a safe and happy holiday season."
Texas Reports More Than 15K New Coronavirus Cases, 9K Hospitalizations
The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 48 was to 1,069, which is a rate of 40.6 daily new cases per 100,000 residents.
The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 has increased, with 22.3% of symptomatic patients presenting to area hospitals testing positive in week 48 (week ending 11/28/20).
Since November 1, there have been 5,320 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children and staff reported from over 770 separate K-12 schools in Dallas County, including 849 staff members.
Thirteen K-12 schools in Dallas County initiated temporary closures of their campuses to in-person instruction this past week due to COVID-19.
There are currently 97 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 927 COVID-19 cases have been reported from these facilities, including 309 staff members. Of these cases 42 have been hospitalized, and 29 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.
Of all confirmed cases requiring hospitalization to date, more than two-thirds have been under 65 years of age.
Diabetes has been an underlying high-risk health condition reported in about a third of all hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Of the total confirmed deaths reported to date, about 23% have been associated with long-term care facilities.
There were 766 COVID-19 patients in acute care in Dallas County for the period ending on Monday, December 7.
The number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County was 428 for the same time period, 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.
Area hospitals are seeing record numbers of patients and remain concerned about additional increases related to the holiday season and related activities, DCHHS said.
The additional deaths reported Tuesday include the following:
- A man in his 20's who was a resident of the City of Irving. He had been critically ill in an area hospital, and had underlying high risk health conditions.
- A man in his 40's who was a resident of the City DeSoto. He had been critically ill in an area hospital, and had underlying high risk health conditions.
- A woman in her 50's who was a resident of the City Dallas. She had been critically ill in an area hospital, and had underlying high risk health conditions.
- A man in his 60's who was a resident of the City Grand Prairie. He 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 Dallas. She had been hospitalized, and had underlying high risk health conditions.
- A woman in her 70's who was a resident of the City Grand Prairie. She had been critically ill in an area hospital, and had underlying high risk health conditions.
- A woman in her 70's who was a resident of the City Garland. 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 Dallas. He had been critically ill in an area hospital, and had underlying high risk health conditions.
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