Dallas County reports more than 450 new COVID-19 cases in a single day
DALLAS - Dallas County health officials reported 454 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths Monday.
It’s the largest single-day number of new cases ever reported in the county and is about 10% more than the past record, according to County Judge Clay Jenkins.
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“@DCHHS reports 454 cases and 3 deaths. Today we’ve seen the largest number of new #COVID19 cases ever reported in Dallas County, a 10% jump from our past highest day. Some of this could be because of increased testing,” he said.
The new cases bring the total number of cumulative cases in Dallas County to 16,845 with 314 deaths.
The three most recent deaths include a Dallas man in his 30s, a Dallas man in his 40s and an Irving man in his 60s. All had an underlying health condition.
Hospitalizations in Dallas County are also up about 54% since June 1.
“As I’ve said before, think of hospitalizations like the tip of the iceberg you see above the water,” Jenkins said. “And know that for that tip to grow by 54% since the beginning of this month, the iceberg below it must have grown exponentially.”
Dr. John Carlo is on the coronavirus taskforce for the Texas Medical Association.
“I haven’t really found any numbers that are trending good at this point,” he said. “So taken together, I think we should all be very concerned.”
Health leaders say the surge is a combination of Memorial Day, Mother’s Day and reopening businesses. There’s no word yet on the impact from recent protests.
“Right now, the facemask use is more important. Even if we are saying we are just testing more, we still are seeing more cases,” Carlo said. “There are more infections out there. We can look at the testing rates and seeing that’s going up.”
Dallas County health officials say an increasing number of new COVID-19 cases are young adults between ages 18-39.
Carlo says while hospitalizations continue to rise, hospitals have enough beds.
The Fourth of July holiday is less than two weeks away. Carlo says after holidays is when doctors see increases. After Thanksgiving, the flu spikes. The Fourth of July weekend is when West Nile virus cases increase. This year, he warns it will be the coronavirus.
“I do worry as we are doing the holiday weekend, people will be less diligent and more complacent on the social distancing measures,” Carlo said. “And the outcome will be we see any more cases after the Fourth of July. I think it is the right time to really be worried about this and take things seriously.”
Dr. Phillip Huang with Dallas County says they are working on a better method of contact tracing involving texts to your phone. He says it’s important to know if you came in contact with someone who has been infected.
Tarrant County on Monday reported two new COVID-19 deaths -- a woman in her 80s and a man in his 70s both from White Settlement.
Health officials blamed the surge on reopening efforts, people not wearing masks, lax social distancing practices, graduation ceremonies, demonstrations and people returning to work.