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Dallas County reports 2,088 new cases, 30 deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday
Dallas County health officials said they are seeing an alarming death toll over the past two days, and the county's morgue is at capacity.
DALLAS - Dallas County health officials said they are seeing an alarming death toll over the past two days, and the county's morgue is at capacity.
There were 2,088 new COVID-19 cases and 30 additional deaths from the coronavirus reported in Dallas County on Thursday.
The 30 COVID-19 deaths is the fourth-highest daily total the county has seen during the pandemic.
The second-highest was 33, on Wednesday.
Still, experts believe the worst might be around the corner.
“The take-home message is, we’ve not even seen the Thanksgiving effect,” Dr. Mark Casanova said.
Dr. Casanova, who is president of the Dallas County Medical Society, said that while the high number of positive tests we’re seeing likely reflects Thanksgiving gatherings, the deaths likely do not, because it typically takes about a month before people die from COVID-19.
“We’ve all read stories of individuals who’ve passed away, rather abruptly, often times in their home,” he explained. “But deaths that result from COVID, typically, tend to occur after a prolonged illness and in many situations a prolonged hospitalization, often times in the ICU, Intensive Care Unit.”
A close-up view of a swab used by medical workers to administer the coronavirus test at the drive-in center at ProHealth Care on March 21, 2020 in Jericho, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office has been using a refrigerated truck to occasionally help store an overflow of bodies since summertime.
The county said it’s currently at capacity inside headquarters, and its averaging, roughly, 15 additional bodies each day, compared to times before the pandemic.
“When you see an increase in case numbers, you see an increase in hospitalizations that follows that. Then, regrettably, you can predict several weeks, to a month after those increase in hospitalizations, we’ll start to see the increase in deaths,” Dr. Casanova explained.
Health experts believe we’ll see an increase in coronavirus deaths related to Thanksgiving exposure around Christmas time.
An uneasy reminder to folks who might be thinking about gathering in groups during December holidays.
“While we’re not trying to be the Grinch that stole Christmas, to really bear in mind that our decisions have consequences,” Dr. Casanova said. “If you got together with family and you got lucky for Thanksgiving and you skirted it, that doesn’t mean the same will happen for Christmas. This really is playing Russian Roulette with a deadly virus.”
Of the 30 reported deaths Thursday, all but one had been hospitalized. That one who had not, was an 80-year-old woman who died in a nursing home.
The age range of those who died was 50s to 90s. Five of those 30 did not have underlying health risks.