Dallas County

Dallas County Reports 901st Death, 360 Newly Reported Cases of the Coronavirus

The county has reported 71,170 cases and 901 deaths

Health officials in Dallas County on Sunday reported the 901st coronavirus-related death and 360 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 233 from previous months.

The one death that was reported was a Dallas resident in her 70s who had been critically ill in a local hospital. She had underlying high-risk health conditions.

Of the 360 new cases reported Sunday, 241 were reported by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The majority of the cases — 224 — were from samples collected in April, May and June.

While a backlog in the state's electronic laboratory reporting system caused spikes in newly reported cases over the last two weeks and skewed the county's seven-day and 14-day averages, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said DCHHS has adjusted all cases based on the date the COVID-19 test is collected.

Using that metric, Jenkins said daily average of new cases for the week ending Aug. 22 was 206, down from 299 the week ending Aug. 15.

The positivity rate in Dallas County fell to 11% last week, Jenkins added, down from 12.8% the week ending Aug. 15.

Of cases requiring hospitalization, about two-thirds have been in patients under 65 years old, while diabetes has been an underlying health condition in about one-third of hospitalized patients.

Of the 900 COVID-19-related deaths in Dallas County, about 26% have been associated with long-term care facilities.

The county has reported 71,170 confirmed cases of the virus since testing began in March, and 901 deaths.

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. Since March 20, the date of the first reported COVID-19 related death in Dallas County, the county has averaged 5.5 deaths per day.

Dallas County does not report recoveries from COVID-19 because it lacks the manpower to follow up with thousands of patients, however, the Texas Department of State Health Services posts an estimated number of recoveries on its site and lists 78,164 for Dallas County as of Saturday, Oct. 10. Using data supplied by the state, there are an estimated 6,120 active COVID-19 cases in the county.

Contact Us