Dallas County ends week with ‘good news’ in coronavirus data; North Texas fire departments begin testing area nursing homes – The Dallas Morning News

Updated 9:36 p.m.: Revised to include information about nursing home testing.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Saturday that this weeks COVID-19 hospitalization rate and new daily case average signaled good news for the county, but cautioned that the decisions of residents in the coming days and weeks will determine whether the county sees a steady decline in cases.

The county reported 172 new cases Saturday, closing out the week with a new daily case average of 200, down from 233 last week, Jenkins said. He said the county had 40 deaths this week, up from 27 the previous week, but that hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and emergency room visits for COVID-19 have remained flat compared to last week.

Overall, this week has been good news and we will hopefully begin to see a decline, but that is entirely up to you, Jenkins said in a written statement. We must all make good decisions and focus not on what is legal, but on what is safe Avoid crowds, when you must be in a crowd wear a face covering and maintain 6 foot distancing, and practice good hygiene by washing your hands regularly.

Jenkins added that residents should still stay home whenever possible and continue to follow guidance outlined in the countys color-coded chart, which was created by health experts and details what precautions residents should take as the outbreak continues. On Saturday, the county was still in the red zone.

The new cases bring the countys total to 8,649. The county also reported three additional COVID-19 deaths Saturday, bringing the total number of deaths to 210.

Two of the individuals had underlying health conditions: a man in his 70s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in Richardson and a man in his 80s who was a resident of a long-term care facility in Mesquite. The third death was of a Seagoville woman in her 80s.

The county said more than one-third of all deaths reported to date have been associated with long-term health care facilities. Dallas County does not report coronavirus recoveries.

The county said of patients who were hospitalized and reported employment, more than 80% have been critical infrastructure workers in sectors like health care, transportation, food and agriculture and first responders.

Two-thirds of hospitalizations have been in people under 65, and half of all hospitalized patients didnt have high-risk chronic health conditions. Diabetes has been a high-risk health condition in about a third of hospitalizations.

Tarrant County announced 52 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday, pushing the countys total during the pandemic to 4,951.

Meanwhile, two new deaths were reported, lifting the countys death toll from COVID-19 to 143.

According to county data, 201 COVID-19 patients remain hospitalized, while 1,832 have recovered. Just under 65% of the countys hospital beds are occupied, and 29% of its ventilators are in use.

Men have made up 58 percent of cases in Tarrant County and 61% of deaths, according to the county website.

Denton County reported seven more novel coronavirus cases Saturday, bringing its total to 1,212.

The county said 616 people have recovered, and 566 cases are still active. The county has had 30 deaths related to the virus.

Collin County reported four new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday, bringing its total to 1,136 thus far during the pandemic.

No new deaths were reported, leaving the countys total deaths from COVID-19 at 33.

Current cases number 300, including 21 patients in the hospital and 279 people isolating at home. A total of 803 people have recovered, the county reported.

North Texas fire chiefs announced the creation of a task force Friday to help expand testing for COVID-19 at North Texas nursing homes.

The task force, which was created in collaboration with the Texas Division of Emergency Management, is in response to an order earlier this month by Gov. Greg Abbott that requires all Texas nursing home residents and staff to undergo testing.

The task force will help conduct COVID-19 testing at 139 nursing homes in Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro and Rockwall counties. Fire departments and agencies from Dallas, Cedar Hill, Plano, Red Oak, Desoto, Ovilla, Lewisville, Corsicana, Ennis, Frisco, Garland, McKinney, Richardson, Sachse and Garland are included in the effort.

In the week following Abbotts order on May 11, local fire departments were able to conduct testing at 50 nursing homes using their own resources, Dallas Fire-Rescue said in a news release.

The regional response involves the use of eight, three-person testing squads, the release said. That effort began a week after the governors order.

Dallas Fire-Rescue said 82 facilities in the region are still in need of testing. Testing has been scheduled at 27 of those facilities.

Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman and Rockwall counties did not provide updates on COVID-19 cases Saturday.

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Dallas County ends week with 'good news' in coronavirus data; North Texas fire departments begin testing area nursing homes - The Dallas Morning News