Coronavirus cases drop slightly in Dallas County, but hospitalizations remain flat
Dallas County reported 190 new coronavirus cases and two deaths on Tuesday.
The latest deaths include a Garland man in his 60s and a Mesquite man in his 70s who was a resident of a long-term care facility. Both had underlying health conditions, according to officials.
There have been 9,188 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 213 deaths, in Dallas County.
Although overall new cases have dropped slightly from previous weeks, the weekly numbers of new hospital admissions for COVID‐19 have not declined significantly over the past six weeks, according to county health officials.
“The indicators the public health committee is using to determine our threat level on the color coded chart are hospitalizations, ER visits for COVID-19 and ICU admissions for COVID-19. They remain flat,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a release and on social media. “In order to move to a lower threat level, the doctors tell me we need to see a 14-day decline in those three factors which unfortunately have yet to materialize.”
Jenkins said he’s hopeful the “modest decline in cases” over the past two weeks will lead to a “decline in hospitalizations, ICU admissions and ER visits soon.”
“Again, how well we do as a community is largely up to all of us making good personal responsibility choices, avoiding crowds, maintaining a 6 foot distance, and wearing a cloth face covering as a quintessential American value of kindness towards others when we are on public transportation or visiting businesses.”
Almost 70% of the 1,524 COVID-19 cases requiring hospitalization have been under 65 and about half did not have any underlying health issues, the county reports.
Diabetes has been an underlying high‐risk health condition reported in about a third of all hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
More than 80% of COVID-19 cases requiring hospitalization (who reported employment) have been critical infrastructure workers, including healthcare, transportation, food and agriculture, public works, finance, communications, clergy, first responders and other essential functions.
Almost 40% of the coronavirus deaths in Dallas County have been residents of long-term care facilities.
COVID-19 cases over time
Coronavirus daily case counts over time by local counties in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex. Tap the arrow button to replay the animation. Data provided by Texas Health and Human Services and local counties.
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 4:55 PM.
