Health officials in Dallas County on Saturday reported 460 new, confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one additional coronavirus-related death.
The person who died after contracting COVID-19 was a Richardson woman in her 80s who died at a long-term care facility and did not have underlying health conditions, according to Dallas County Health and Human Services.
Of the 460 confirmed cases added Saturday, 167 came through the Texas Department of State Health Services' electronic reporting system. Five of those 167 are considered older cases.
"We can do this North Texas if we all focus on making good decisions for ourselves and our community and put that over our selfish desires to do the things the doctors tell us will hurt public health."
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins
In addition to the confirmed cases, DCHSS also reported 32 probable cases of the novel coronavirus Saturday. The county has reported 86,022 confirmed and 4,570 probable cases of COVID-19 since March.
Dallas County has reported 1,048 COVID-19-related deaths and 78,164 recoveries from the virus.
Since Sept. 27, hospitalizations in Dallas County have increased by more than 40%, Judge Clay Jenkins said.
"The decisions that you make today and tomorrow and every day that follows will determine what happens a week or two after," Jenkins said in a written statement. "For less people to get sick, more businesses to thrive, and children to have their best chance at an in-school experience that’s not interrupted by outbreaks, we all need to do our part: wear our masks, maintain six-foot distance, wash our hands, avoid frequenting any indoor events outside your home where the mask cannot be worn one hundred percent of the time, and when people come into your home, wear your mask and maintain 6-foot distance."
Dallas County's provisional seven-day average of new cases, which uses the date of the test collection, for Week 40 was 346 new cases per day. The positivity rate in Dallas County last week was 9.8% -- higher than the statewide rate of 7.1% by lab reported date.
A provisional total of 265 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in school-aged children last week -- an increase from the previous week, according to DCHSS.
Of all confirmed coronavirus cases requiring hospitalization, more than two-thirds have been under 65 years old, DCHSS said. Diabetes has been an underlying health condition in about one-third of all hospitalized patients, while 24% of COVID-19-related deaths have been associated with long-term care facilities.
"We can do this North Texas if we all focus on making good decisions for ourselves and our community and put that over our selfish desires to do the things the doctors tell us will hurt public health," Jenkins said.
*Map locations are approximate, central locations for the city and are not meant to indicate where actual infected people live.
