Dallas County is reporting nine more COVID-19 related deaths and 1,164 new confirmed cases of the infection Friday, according to Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
The nine latest victims of the virus include:
- A Dallas man in his 40s who had underlying health conditions and been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Garland man in his 50s who had underlying health conditions and been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Dallas man in his 50s who had underlying health conditions and been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Garland woman in her 60s who did not have underlying health conditions and who died in a hospital ER.
- A Dallas man in his 70s who did not have underlying health conditions and who died in a hospital ER.
- An Irving man in his 70s who had underlying health conditions and was a resident of a long-term care facility. He died after being critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Garland woman in her 90s who had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Dallas woman in her 90s who had underlying health conditions and lived in a long-term care facility. She had been hospitalized.
The 1,164 cases reported Friday is the eighth-straight day with cases topping 1,000. The 7-day average for new cases is now 1,121 cases per day, up from an average of 209 per day on June 1. In the last week, Dallas County has added 7,850 new cases of the virus.
The county has now accumulated more than 31,500 cases of the virus since testing began in March. There have been 445 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.
Dallas County officials said in a statement Friday afternoon that "emergency room visits for COVID-19 like symptoms in Dallas County decreased from 824 to 757 in the 24-hour period ending Thursday night. The county added the number of patients in acute care being treated for COVID-19 infections dropped from 831 to 809 Friday.
"Today's numbers continue the trend that we are seeing. Gov. Abbott is now on record agreeing with me that things will get worse before they get better. It's imperative that we all wear our masks 100% of the time when we are around other people outside our own family. If you suspect you are ill, wear your mask 100% of the time, even in your own home. Remember, your mask protects others and their mask protects you," Jenkins said Friday.
The increase in cases comes as the state's positivity rate, the percentage of people testing positive for the virus, has been sustained well over 10% for more than two weeks and climbed above 15% on Thursday. On Friday, the rate dropped back down to 14.46%. An increase in the positivity rate indicates an increase in the spread of the virus, not an increase in testing for the virus.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, an estimated 16,559 people (through Friday) in the county have recovered from the virus leaving an estimated 14,521 known patients fighting the infection.
County officials said last week more than half of the new cases reported have been young adults between the ages of 18 and 39.
To date, of cases requiring hospitalization who reported employment, 83% have been critical infrastructure workers, with a broad range of affected occupational sectors, including healthcare, transportation, food and agriculture, public works, finance, communications, clergy, first responders and other essential functions.
Of cases requiring hospitalization, two-thirds have been under 65 years of age, and about half do not have high-risk chronic health conditions. Diabetes has been an underlying high-risk health condition reported in about a third of all hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
The county has been reporting for several weeks now that more than a third of the deaths related to COVID-19 have been among residents of long-term care facilities.
