Health officials in Dallas County on Sunday reported 1,862 new COVID-19 cases and the death of a Dallas woman in her 50s.
Of the cases reported Sunday, the county said 1,811 were confirmed cases and 51 were probable (antigen test) cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the county from March to 118,962 and the number of probable (antigen test) cases to 11,224.
Sunday snapped a stretch of three straight days on which the county added a record number of new cases: 1,860 on Thursday, 1,974 on Friday and 2,183 on Saturday -- all new highs for days that did not include cases from the state's reporting backlog.
Dallas County Health and Human Services reported the 1,185th coronavirus-related death in the county: a Dallas woman in her 50s who had been hospitalized and had underlying health conditions.
County officials said there have also been 26 probable deaths. In the summer, DCHHS Director Dr. Philip Huang said COVID-19 is the third leading cause of death in the county behind diseases of the heart and cancers.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, 97,183 Dallas County residents have recovered from COVID-19.
DCHHS also reported a new spike in cases at long-term care facilities in the county. Over the last month, the county has seen more than 850 coronavirus cases spread across 84 different facilities, including 304 staff members. The number represents the most active outbreaks in long-term care facilities since the start of the pandemic in March, according to the county.
"It's up to all of us to flatten the curve and renew our strength to protect ourselves, our community and our economy for a little while longer until the vaccine can help put this dark chapter behind us," Jenkins said Saturday. "I know this is disappointing news for Thanksgiving but we have so much to be thankful for. We must focus on what we're thankful for and protecting it for the future and not give in to momentary weakness or selfishness that will lead to bad decisions. We can do this North Texas if we all band together in the spirit of courage and camaraderie."
The county added that the provisional 7-day average for new confirmed and probable cases by date of a test collection for CDC week 46 has increased to 1,321, which is a rate of 50.1 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. During the same week, a provisional total of 1,224 confirmed and probable cases were diagnosed in school children between the ages of 5 and 17 -- a three-fold increase from five weeks earlier.
Since November 1, there have also been over 116 COVID-19 cases in children and staff reported from 60 separate daycares in Dallas County.
On Friday, there were 738 patients with COVID-19 in acute care in Dallas County, while the number of emergency room visits for coronavirus-link symptoms rose to 545, or 23% of all such visits, according to DCHHS.
