The Dallas County Health Department is reporting eight new COVID-19 deaths Thursday along with another 250 cases of the virus.
Of the 250 cases reported Thursday, Dallas County officials said 122 are from the Texas Department of State Health Services backlog with 121 of them coming from August and one from July.
“The trends in Dallas County have been going well, and as a result, the color-coded risk chart moved for the first time from “Red” high-risk to “Orange” moderate-risk; however, as you can see from the eight deaths today and the numbers of new cases that we’ve seen this week, we are not where we need to be in our battle with COVID-19," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins in a statement Thursday.
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"In order to continue seeing the sort of gains that will get less people sick, get more businesses thriving, and more school children back in the classroom, we need to make smart decisions this Labor Day weekend. As you celebrate Labor Day, please do it responsibly," Jenkins said.
Jenkins added that it's important that everyone continues to wear their mask, maintain a six-foot distance, use good hand-washing, avoid unnecessary trips, and avoid any indoor activities where people are not wearing masks 100% of the time.
The county reported eight more deaths Thursday, including:
- A man in his 50s who was a resident of the City of Duncanville. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
- A man in his 50s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
- A man in his 50s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
- A woman in her 60s who was a resident of the City of Dallas. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
- A man in his 60s who was a resident of the City of Garland. He had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
- A woman in her 70s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Lancaster. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
- A woman in her 80s who was a resident of the City of Garland. She had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
- A man in his 80s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the City of Dallas. He had been hospitalized and had underlying high-risk health conditions.
The county has now accumulated 72,860 cases of the virus since testing began in March. With an estimated 61,935 recoveries being reported by the state through Thursday, there are also an estimated 9,991 active cases in Dallas County. There have been 934 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.
Data released by the county Tuesday shows COVID-19 patients at Dallas County hospitals down to just below 400. A month ago, in early August, that number was closer to 700. Updated hospitalization data will be released Friday.
