Grim Milestone: Dallas County Records 1,000th Coronavirus Death
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Dallas County Health and Human Services reported three more coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total confirmed deaths since the pandemic began to 1,000.
DCHHS also reported 172 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases Tuesday, bringing the total confirmed case count in Dallas County to 78,377.
The deceased patients were a Dallas woman in her 50s, a Garland man in his 70s and a Grand Prairie man in his 80s.
Each patient had underlying high risk health conditions.
"Today we reached the grim milestone of 1,000 recorded deaths from COVID-19. Our most recent reported death died on September 18. Our first reported death was March 19. Please pause today with me for a moment of reflection and prayer for the 1,000 families who lost a loved one over that six month period and the thousands more who suffer with symptoms and recovery from COVID-19 as well as the emotional and financial turmoil that it has brought to our community," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins in a statement.
Texas Reports 3,964 New Coronavirus Cases, 77 Deaths
Of the 172 new cases reported Tuesday, 73 came through the Texas Department of State Health Services' electronic laboratory reporting system and two were from June and July.
"Looking at the most recent data from the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation, over the 179 day period from March 19 to September 13, more people died of COVID-19 than stroke or any other cause other than all forms of heart disease and all forms of cancer. If we were to extrapolate that death rate across a 365 day period, we would have over 2,000 deaths. Whether or not that occurs is largely up to you. I'm hopeful that with the decreases in hospitalizations, positivity rates, and new COVID-19 cases that we have seen since I put universal masking into effect in Dallas County in June and the Governor made that statewide in July, we will not see that happen. But, it's up to all of us to wear our mask when outside our home, maintain six-foot distance, wash our hands frequently, avoid unnecessary trips and it's best to avoid any indoor activity where masks cannot be worn one hundred percent of the time," said Judge Jenkins.