Dallas County is reporting 13 more COVID-19 related deaths Friday, making this the county's deadliest week on record for the virus, along with 1,195 new confirmed cases of the infection.
So far this week Dallas County officials have reported 65 deaths, Sunday through Friday.
The 13 latest victims of the virus include:
- A Grand Prairie man in his 20s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Grand Prairie woman in her 20s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Dallas man in his 60s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Lancaster woman in her 60s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Garland man in his 60s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Dallas man in his 70s who had underlying health conditions and died in a hospital emergency room.
- A Rowlett man in his 70s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- An Irving woman in her 70s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Rowlett woman in her 70s who did not have underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Rowlett man in his 80s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Garland woman in her 80s who did not have underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Dallas man in his 90s who was a resident of a long-term care facility and who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Dallas man in his 90s who had underlying health conditions and had been hospitalized.
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Jenkins said in a statement Thursday afternoon that there is a "near record-high number of individuals currently hospitalized for COVID-19" in Dallas County.
According to the county health department, 796 people were in acute care for COVID-19 through Thursday, July 16. Additionally, the number of ER visits for COVID-19 like symptoms was 713 in the 24-hour period ending Thursday.
"There continues to be rampant community spread in Dallas County. I know this summer looks different than what we all imagined months ago and there's uncertainty as to what our community and daily life will look like going forward," Jenkins said. "Please know that we are working hard and following the advice of medical and public health experts so that we can keep our economy moving and keep as many people healthy as possible."
Jenkins reminded that, "we all must do our part" and asked everyone to wear their masks or facial coverings when around others outside of their household and to continue six-foot distancing.
The 1,195 cases reported Friday is the 15th-straight day with cases topping 1,000. The 7-day average for new cases is now 1,095 cases per day, up from an average of 209 per day on June 1. In the last week, Dallas County has added 7,666 new cases of the virus.
The county has now accumulated 39,191 cases of the virus since testing began in March. There have been 514 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. Since March 20, the date of the first reported COVID-19 related death in Dallas County, the county has averaged 4.3 deaths per day.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, an estimated 19,433 people (through Thursday) in the county have recovered from the virus leaving an estimated 19,244 known patients fighting the infection. This number will be updated Friday afternoon.
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 nearly three weeks and climbed to a new high of 16.89% on Monday. An increase in the positivity rate indicates an increase in the spread of the virus, not an increase in testing for the virus.
County officials said earlier this month an increasing proportion of new cases reported have been young adults between the ages of 18 and 39, including half of all cases reported since June 1.
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.
