Dallas County Health Reports 5 Additional Positive COVID-19 Cases
DALLAS COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - Friday afternoon Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) reported five additional positive cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus.
Last week Dallas County issued a state of local disaster declaration to help contain and mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19.
Since public laboratories in North Texas are no longer required to send "presumptive positive" samples to the Centers for Disease Control, respiratory samples positive for COVID-19 in a public lab are considered "positive" with no need for further testing.
The latest positive cases include:
- Man in his 40's
- Man in his 50's
- Woman in her 50's
- Man in his 60's
- Man in his 70's
Officials say none of the latest cases require patient hospitalization and all of the individuals are self-isolating at their homes.
Three of the newest cases are residents who live within the City of Dallas. One patient resides in the City of Farmers Branch, and another patient lives out-of-state.
The new reports up the number of presumptive positive cases in Dallas County to 19 -- with four of those cases belonging to residents who actually live outside the county.
Over the weekend Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said. "The number of cases will continue to rise. The rate at which they rise will depend on the extent to which we all act responsibly to prevent community spread."
The CDC recommends taking everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, influenza and other respiratory diseases, including:
- Stay home when you are sick, except to seek medical care
- Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and help young children to do the same
- If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-base hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue. If you do not have a tissue, use your sleeve
