Dallas County health officials confirmed Tuesday the deaths of 10 people infected with COVID-19 as well as 89 others who are now infected with the virus. The county now has 1,877 confirmed cases of the virus and 42 deaths.
Of the victims, county health officials said seven of the lived in Dallas and one each in Garland, DeSoto and Mesquite. The patients ranged in ages from their 30s to their 90s and all but one, the DeSoto resident, had underlying health issues.
- A man in his 60s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the city of Dallas and had been critically ill in an area hospital.
- A man in his 70s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the city of Dallas and had been hospitalized in an area hospital.
- A man in his 80s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the city of Dallas and had been hospitalized in an area hospital.
- A woman in her 50s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the city of Dallas.
- A woman in her 90s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in the city of Dallas.
- A man in his 50s who was a resident of the city of Dallas and had been critically ill in an area hospital.
- A man in his 50s who was a resident of the city of Dallas and had been critically ill in an area hospital.
- A man in his 30s who was a resident of the city of Garland and had been critically ill in an area hospital.
- A woman in her 80s who was a resident of the city of Mesquite and had been hospitalized in an area hospital.
- A man in his 80s who was a resident of the city of DeSoto and had been found deceased at home.
News of the deaths was first shared by Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins during an interview with The Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek on Tuesday morning.
"I'll announce at least 10 deaths today ... when we do our count of new cases and deaths," Jenkins said. "Every one of those is a person with a family, so that gives concern."
Jenkins said there was optimism however, citing medical modeling from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Baylor Medical Center showing that the curve indicating the number of COVID-19 cases may be flattening in Dallas County.
"That's giving us cause for optimism and hope,” Jenkins said. “But we’re in the middle, we’re not in the end, so we have to stay focused on the mission and the mission for everyone is personal responsibility, make good choices -- don’t let up now."
In his discussion with the Texas Tribune, Jenkins added that in March the forecasted peak day was toward the end of May. Now, with physical distancing, gathering restrictions and other safer-at-home mandates in place, Jenkins said the forecasted peak day has been moved closer toward the end of April or early May.
"I'd caution people to remember that novel means new, it's a new virus," Jenkins said. "Doctors are really making somewhat scientific but mostly just sophisticated guesses as to when that peak may occur."
Dallas County typically releases their aggregate report on Tuesday and Friday detailing the locations of COVID-19 cases previously reported as a raw number. That information is expected to be released sometime late Tuesday morning or early afternoon.
Over in Tarrant County, Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja told the Tarrant County Commissioners Court they would be announcing at least four deaths Tuesday of people who were infected with COVID-19.
As of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, there are more than 14,600 confirmed COVID-19 tests in Texas and more than 318 deaths of people who were infected with the virus. In North Texas, there are now more than 4,000 confirmed cases and more than 100 deaths.
*Map locations are approximate, central locations for the city and are not meant to indicate where actual infected people live.
NBC 5's Ken Kalthoff contributed to this report.
