Local leaders and health experts are asking
residents to stay home this weekend or wear a face covering and social distance
if they choose to go out.
Author: Jozelyn Escobedo (WFAA) Published: 11:25
AM CDT July 4, 2020 Updated: 7:12 PM
CDT July 4, 2020 This story will be
continuously updated.
Texas reported its highest daily increase in the
number of confirmed coronavirus cases Saturday with 8,258, as hospitalizations
continued to climb. For the third day in a row, and the sixth time in the past
week, Dallas County also reported a single-day high of 1,103.
An executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott
mandated face coverings statewide as Texans entered the Fourth of July weekend.
The order is the most dramatic about-face the Republican governor has made as
he retreats from what stood out as one of the swiftest reopenings in
America.
State health officials also reported 33
additional deaths, for a total of 2,608.
For the second day in a row, Dallas County
surpassed 1,000 cases of COVID-19.
“It took us 92 days to reach 300 cases, 22
days to reach the next 400 more cases at 700 cases and 2 days to reach another
400 cases at 1,100,” Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted.
County health officials also announced two new
deaths. One of the victims was a man in his 70s who lived in Balch Springs; the
other victim was a woman in her 80s who lived at a long-term care facility in
Dallas.
Both of the victims had underlying health
conditions.
Jenkins is urging residents to keep July
Fourth celebrations to their household only.
“This is necessary because of the
out-of-control spread that we are now experiencing with COVID-19,”
Jenkins said.
Health officials say since 50% of the cases
reported after June 1 have been young adults between 18 to 39 years old.
Officials say recreational and social
gatherings such as house parties have been associated with the increase of
cases.
Jenkins also reiterated his call for further
action from state leaders, saying in a letter first
release June 27 that the "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order should be
reinstituted for 30 days.
Jenkins also wrote that he believe restaurants
should be closed except for takeout or socially-distanced outdoor dining, a
number of recreational businesses should be closed, and youth sports, public
pools and day camps should cease.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and other local
leaders are asking people to stay home this holiday weekend, as COVID-19 cases
and hospitalizations continue to increase.
On Friday, Dallas County reported a single-day
record high of 1,085 cases and the
state reported more than 7,500 new cases.
In a news release sent Saturday morning,
Johnson said the situation is growing worse each day.
"This disease must be taken seriously or
the people of Dallas will suffer immensely. Many lives and livelihoods will be
lost if the current pace of the spread continues," he said.
Health experts and Gov. Greg Abbott say if
people "let their guard down" this weekend, that pandemic could be
exponentially worse than it is now.
"If July Fourth weekend is like Memorial
Day weekend, it would be essentially catastrophic," said Dr. Philip Huang
at Dallas County Health and Human Services. A statewide face mask mandate
is in effect until further notice, and several July 4 events have gone
virtual this year or have been canceled.
In addition to local restrictions, a handful
of states are requiring out-of-state travelers to quarantine for 14 days upon
their arrival.
Denton County reports
95 new cases
Denton County health officials announced 95
new cases Saturday afternoon, 11 of which are inmates at the Denton County
Jail.
This brings the countywide total to 3,279
cases since tracking began in March. Officials say they are working to minimize
exposures within the correctional facility and have implemented isolation
protocols for the individuals who tested positive for COVID-19.
One new case was also reported at a long-term
care facility within the county.
At this time, 1,220 county residents have
recovered from COVID-19 and 37 have died, according to officials.
Collin County reports
88 new cases
Collin County health officials reported 88 new
cases Saturday afternoon, bringing the countywide total to 3,409 cases.
There have been 2,659 recoveries and 46 deaths
since tracking began in March.
Dallas-Fort Worth
Hospital Council says it's 'concerned' of future COVID-19 spike
The president and CEO of the Dallas-Fort Worth
Hospital Council released a statement Friday night regarding the increasing
rate of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in North Texas.
In the statement, W. Stephen Love confirmed
that currently there is adequate hospital capacity and ventilators but said
health officials are concerned about a couple of weeks from now because of the
holiday weekend.
"If the trend continues, we will have to
implement surge plans here in North Texas hospitals within 2-3 weeks," he
said in the statement.
Love also urged residents to continue taking
precautions to slow the spread of the disease and thanked Gov. Abbott for his
actions regarding the statewide face mask mandate.
Read the entire statement below:
“As I stated earlier this week, we have
adequate hospital capacity currently and adequate ventilators for COVID-19
patient treatment. However, we are very concerned about 2-3 weeks from now,
especially with activities around the holiday weekend.
Based on multiple predictive models, we are
very worried about increased positivity testing, hospitalizations, and obvious
spikes in the community spread of COVID-19. The doubling rate continues to
decrease and is now approaching 16-17 days which indicates increased COVID-19
community spread. If the trend continues, we will have to implement surge plans
here in North Texas hospitals within 2-3 weeks. We absolutely need to slow the
COVID-19 spread now to keep adequate hospital capacity. Those surge plans would
increase the capacity at our existing hospitals by utilizing surge strategies
on our existing hospital campuses. Surge situations involve more than bed
capacity because personal protective equipment ( PPE ) and workforce requirements
factor into the surge equation for effective patient treatment. Everyone needs
to do their part to slow the spread because we want to preserve our health care
heroes workforce that have been treating COVID-19 patients with compassionate
care for 3.5 months. Our hospital CEO’s are monitoring this serious situation
hourly.
We commend and thank Governor Greg Abbott for
his actions Friday, especially related to wearing masks. The erroneous belief
that refusing to wear a mask makes you appear cavalier is both irresponsible
and a denial of evidence-based medical science.
We are all in this together and we need to
reflect unconditional respect for our fellow Texans by wearing masks in public,
practice physical distancing, wash our hands frequently for 20 seconds and
utilize good personal hygiene.
This situation is very serious and we need to
help slow the spread of COVID-19 which will save lives. We can do this if we
all participate in a very responsible way.”
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