A Mesquite woman in her 70s is the 211th person in Dallas County to die after testing positive for COVID-19, health officials say.
The woman, who was a resident of a long-term care facility, had underlying, high-risk health conditions, Dallas County Health and Human Services said.
The county also reported 178 new cases of the coronavirus, raising the countywide total to 8,827. An estimated 4,470 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Dallas County, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Dallas County has reported less than 200 new cases on four of the last five days.
While the case numbers have dropped, the county's hospitalizations and emergency room visits remained flat, while the death rate went up last week, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said. He encouraged residents to continue to avoid crowds and to wear a face covering when in public.
"Think of the face covering not as an impingement on your personal liberty, but as a quintessential American activity of showing kindness to others," Jenkins said in a written statement. "The person at the store next to you may have a loved one who is at high-risk and your face covering protects them if you're asymptomatic."
Of cases requiring hospitalization among people who have reported employment, more than 80% have been in critical infrastructure workers, officials said.
Two-thirds of cases that have required hospitalization in Dallas County have been in people under 65 years old, while about 50% are in people who do not have high-risk health conditions, according to DCHHS.
