Dallas County is reporting a slight uptick in new COVID-19 cases Tuesday along with the deaths of two more people infected with COVID-19.
The deaths confirmed Tuesday are of a Garland man in his 60s who had underlying health conditions and died in a hospital emergency room. The second victim was a Mesquite man in his 70s who had underlying health conditions and was a resident of a long-term care facility.
To date, there have been 213 deaths of people infected with the virus and more than a third of those deaths have been among residents of long-term care facilities.
The Dallas County Health Department said Tuesday they were also reporting 190 new cases of the virus, bringing the county's total number of cases to 9,188. According to state data, there are now estimated to be 5,105 recoveries in Dallas County.
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Tuesday's number of new cases is the sixth out of the last seven days, and the fourth straight, where it was below 200.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told NBC 5 Tuesday recent new COVID-19 case numbers and fatality counts over the weekend offer reassuring news but cautions people should still take steps to guard against the virus.
“It’s really up to all of us to see how this goes. If we all make our best decisions, if we all follow those doctor recommendations to the extent that we can, I believe what we will see is a steady descent,” said Jenkins.
Jenkins, on Monday, urged all North Texans to continue to avoid crowds, maintain social and physical distancing and to continue, "wearing our face covering as a quintessential American value of an act of kindness and protection to essential workers and patrons when we are in businesses or on public transportation."
DCHHS said Monday of cases requiring hospitalization who reported employment, over 80% 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.
