Dallas County is reporting two more COVID-19 related deaths Monday along with 426 new confirmed cases of the infection.
The two latest victims of the virus include:
- A Balch Springs man in his 50s who had underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
- A Dallas man in his 60s who did not have underlying health conditions and had been critically ill in a hospital ICU with the virus.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins warns the lower numbers reported Monday could be due to a glitch in the state's reporting system that resulted in nearly 1,300 cases being reported on Saturday following four days of declines. Still, Jenkins was "increasingly optimistic" that the use of masks and delaying unnecessary trips was having an impact on flattening the number of new cases in the county.
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"Today’s numbers are lower than they have been since June 25. Although there is some concern that some of the testing may not be getting through on the reports due to a potential glitch in the state’s electronic laboratory reporting system, I’m increasingly optimistic that your use of masks and sacrificial delay of unnecessary trips outside the home for things other than necessities are having an impact on flattening the recent explosion in cases since the governor’s Open Texas plan was implemented. Please keep wearing your mask and don’t let up on making smart decisions. Public health and our economy can’t afford it," Jenkins said.
The 426 cases reported Monday is the lowest number of new cases reported since July 22 when 413 cases were reported. The 7-day average for new cases is now 707 cases per day, down from an average of 792 on Sunday but up from 535 per day on July 1. In the last week, Dallas County has added 4,947 new cases of the virus.
The county has now accumulated 47,239 cases of the virus since testing began in March. There have been 607 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 4.7 deaths per day.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, an estimated 29,266 people (through Monday) in the county have recovered from the virus leaving an estimated 17,366 known patients fighting the infection. This number will be updated Monday afternoon.
Also Monday, Jenkins said in a statement that more than 1,450 children under the age of 18 have been diagnosed with the virus in the first three weeks of July. During that same timeframe, 29 children have been hospitalized including four in the ICU.
Of cases requiring hospitalization, two-thirds of all COVID-19 patients 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.
