Health officials in Dallas County reported 139 additional cases of COVID-19 Tuesday bringing the countywide total to 74,100.
Of the 139 cases, 63 came from the Texas Department of State Health Services' electronic laboratory reporting system, health officials said.
The 63 cases from DSHS were of samples collected in September, indicating the state's reporting backlog could be clearing up.
Dallas County Health and Human Services reported three coronavirus-related deaths Tuesday.
The deaths include two women in their 50’s from Dallas and a man in his 60's, also from Dallas. All had underlying high-risk health conditions.
The county's seven-day average number of new cases per day dropped to 264, down from 421 last week, while its 14-day average dropped to 342.
“Today we report a total of 139 new confirmed cases and three additional deaths. The lower number may be due to decreased reporting over the holiday weekend. Hopefully we won’t see a rise in cases from the holiday weekend if we all wore a mask, maintained six-foot distance, and avoided unnecessary trips and crowds. Today was the first day of school for Dallas ISD and many of our students here in Dallas County although many children experienced their first day of school this year online With the decreasing numbers, I’m hopeful that more schools will be able to welcome back our youngest scholars soon, and if we keep the numbers down, that more and more kids will get the opportunity for in-person learning. It’s up to all of us for that to happen and the best way to keep our numbers trending lower is to wear a mask, maintain six-foot distancing, wash hands frequently, avoid unnecessary trips, and avoid places where people are not wearing their mask one hundred percent of the time,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
The county has now accumulated 74,100 cases of the virus since testing began in March. With an estimated 64,332 recoveries being reported by the state through Monday.
There have been 948 confirmed 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 5.5 deaths per day.
