Dallas County reports record number of new coronavirus cases for third day in a row

Dallas County reported 328 new coronavirus cases Friday, setting a daily record for the third consecutive day.

The county also reported three more deaths from the virus: three men, all in their 60s, from Garland, Irving and Richardson.

There have been 13,585 cases of COVID-19 and 280 deaths in Dallas County, which does not report a number of recoveries.

County Judge Clay Jenkins noted at a news conference that, with the political season and other activities gearing back up, people may want to take their minds off the pandemic.

“This disease doesn’t care that we’re tired,” Jenkins said. “It doesn’t care that we’re distracted. It doesn’t care that we have other priorities.”

County officials and health experts have focused on hospitalizations, ICU admissions and emergency room visits to determine guidelines for everyday activities during the pandemic — and those numbers are the highest they’ve been since the pandemic began, Dr. Philip Huang, the county’s health director, said at the news conference.

“These are not the directions we want to go,” Huang said.

For the third day in a row, Dallas County reported that more than 370 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus. Hospitalizations for the virus had stayed between 300 and 350 for several weeks.

Huang said the reason the county hasn’t used the rate of positive tests as a key indicator to monitor the spread of the virus is that it can be inconsistent. He said hospitals change their testing policies, all the nursing homes are now undergoing tested, and rural communities without cases also are being tested.

“So, you’re really diluting some of those numbers in terms of being able to track consistently what a percent of positive means,” he said.

Asked what the county was doing to address the fact that Hispanic people account for more than 60% of its coronavirus cases, Huang said COVID-19 information is being translated into Spanish and officials are doing community outreach to educate people in ZIP codes with higher case counts.

Jenkins said the number of cases among Hispanics is disproportionate because they were more likely to be essential workers when the state began reopening and less likely to have access to health care.

Jenkins said that for the county to get through the pandemic and get the economy moving, the community needs to take precautions and follow public health guidelines — such as wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart in public and practicing good hygiene.

“If we fail to do that, we will see a wave of new cases, and that will be crippling for both public health and consumer confidence,” he said.

Jenkins said two new testing sites at Walmarts would open in the next week: at 2650 State Highway 161 in Grand Prairie, from 7 to 9 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and at 915 N. Town East Blvd. in Mesquite on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hours for the Town East location were not available.

Jenkins said people don’t need to be symptomatic to get tested if they attended a mass gathering five or more days ago. He said people don’t have to specify that it was a protest — church gatherings and political rallies also count.

He also announced new guidelines for people with high-risk conditions and for apartment complexes.

The guidance for people who are most vulnerable — those 65 or older or with chronic health conditions or who live in long term-care facilities — includes traveling only for essential needs, working from home when possible and avoiding physical interactions outside the home.

For apartment complexes, the county recommendations include closing amenities, regularly cleaning frequently touched and high-traffic areas and requiring masks in common areas.

Jenkins said he was meeting with a committee of experts Friday night to create recommendations for what Gov. Greg Abbott should monitor to slow the spread of the disease.

“I think it’s hard,” Jenkins said. “The politicians have made it really clear, President Trump’s made it really clear that it’s full-steam ahead on opening the economy regardless of what they see.”

PUBLIC HEALTH

What you need to know about coronavirus, plus a map of every case in Texas

BY WIRE SERVICES AND TOM STEELE

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 296 new coronavirus cases Friday and one death — a Fort Worth man in his 70s who had underlying health conditions.

Tarrant County has had 7,120 cases and 191 deaths. It also reported 115 recoveries, raising the total to 3,053.

Collin County

As of Friday, Collin County had seven new COVID-19 cases, 212 new recoveries and no additional deaths, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The county has had a total of 1,560 cases, 37 deaths and 1,271 recoveries.

Denton County

Denton County reported 55 new coronavirus cases and 42 recoveries Friday.

The county has seen a total of 1,687 cases, 36 deaths and 936 recoveries.

Rockwall County

On Friday, Rockwall County reported three new coronavirus cases.

The county now has 233 confirmed cases. There have been 15 deaths — all among residents of the Broadmoor Medical Lodge in Rockwall.

County officials said previously that they did not receive an update on recoveries from the state this week because of a change in reporting.

Kaufman County

Kaufman County officials reported 10 new coronavirus cases Friday.

The county has had 325 cases of COVID-19 and two deaths, along with 258 recoveries.

Ellis County

Ellis County reported 19 new coronavirus cases Friday, as well as three new recoveries from the virus.

The county now has had a total of 463 cases, with 338 recoveries and 18 deaths.

Johnson County

The county reported 10 new cases Friday.

Four people were released from isolation, for a total of 175.

The county has had 256 cases of COVID-19 and four deaths.