Dallas County is reporting seven more COVID-19 related deaths Friday along with another 707 new confirmed cases of the infection and the sixth-consecutive drop in the 14-day average.
The latest seven victims of the virus include:
- A Dallas woman in her 40s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Garland woman in her 60s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Dallas man in his 60s who was a resident of a long-term care facility and who also had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Dallas man in his 60s who was a resident of a long-term care facility and who did not have underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Lancaster woman in her 60s who had underlying health conditions and who died in a hospital ER.
- A Grand Prairie man in his 60s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Dallas man in his 70s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
"While the numbers this week are shaping up to be lower than they were at our high point reached earlier this month, they are still over four times higher than the average when the governor's Open Texas plan started," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who also urged people to continue physical distancing and wearing masks when in public.
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Jenkins added Friday that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations went up slightly overnight -- county data shows 687 people in acute care through Thursday.
In the last seven days, Dallas County has added 5,230 new cases of the virus, for an average of 747 cases per day, an increase from yesterday's 7-day average of 740 cases.
The 14-day average of new cases has dropped for six consecutive days from 956 on July 25 to 770 on Friday. The 707 new cases reported Friday is lower than both the 7-day average and the 14-day average.
The county has now accumulated 49,976 cases of the virus since testing began in March. There have been 671 deaths attributed in the county to the virus, which, according to Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Dr. Philip Huang, is now the third leading cause of death in the county behind diseases of the heart and cancers. Since March 20, the date of the first reported COVID-19 related death in Dallas County, the county has averaged five deaths per day.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, an estimated 33,036 people in the county have recovered from the virus (through Friday) leaving an estimated 16,269 known patients fighting the infection.
Also Friday, Jenkins said in a statement that more than 2,050 children under the age of 18 have been diagnosed with the virus in the first three weeks of July. During that same timeframe, 52 children have been hospitalized.
Of cases requiring hospitalization, two-thirds of all COVID-19 patients have been under 65 years of age, and about half do not have high-risk chronic health conditions. Diabetes has been an underlying high-risk health condition reported in about a third of all hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
The county has been reporting for several weeks now that more than a third of the deaths related to COVID-19 have been among residents of long-term care facilities.
