City of Dallas COVID-19 Update: April 22
Dear Friend —
Below are the latest updates from the City of Dallas on our COVID-19 response and some important information you are encouraged to share:
Confirmed Positive Cases of COVID-19 in North Texas
- 2,683 in Dallas County (81 are new) & 65 deaths (recovery numbers unknown)
- 1,430 in Tarrant County (97 are new) & 44 deaths (259 recovered)
- 644 in Denton County (25 are new) & 19 deaths (263 recovered)
- 584 in Collin County (14 are new) & 14 deaths (421 recovered)
- 124 in Ellis County & 4 deaths (60 recovered)
- 55 in Rockwall County (recovery numbers unknown)
- 51 in Kaufman County (31 recovered)
Hospital Reports
Here are the bed and ventilator capacity statistics as reported by 25 hospitals in the City of Dallas:
- Total beds: 5,711
- Beds occupied: 3,107 (54%)
- Total ICU beds: 827
- ICU beds occupied: 494 (60%)
- Total ventilators: 942
- Ventilators in use: 305 (32%)
COVID-19 Lab Reports
Below are the numbers for Wednesday, April 22, 2020:
360 COVID-19 tests |
54 positive |
306 negative |
Testing numbers from labs to date
Total tests to date by Dallas County Health and Human Services | 1,624 |
Total tests to date private labs* | 11,108 |
Total negative tests to date* | 10,512 |
Total active cases in Dallas County | 2,683 |
Total deaths in Dallas County | 65 |
*Numbers since March 13, 2020, the date the order requiring public and private labs in Dallas to report their COVID-19 tests went into effect
Community-Based Testing Sites
The numbers reported from the two community-based testing sites for April 22 are as follows:
American Airlines Center and Ellis Davis Field House |
Total number of visitors: 512 |
Total tested: 499 |
Demographic information on those who visited the test sites can be found here.
311 COVID-19 Call and Service Report (SR) Data
Data Set | Value | Notes |
New 311 COVID-19 Calls Received Today | 60 | |
Total 311 COVID-19 Calls Received to Date | 4,138 | Since March 13, 2020 |
New Emergency Regulations SRs Received Today (General) | 543 | |
Total Emergency Regulations SRs Received to Date (General) | 16,757 | Since March 17, 2020 |
New Emergency Regulations SRs Received Today (Parks only) | 6 | |
Total Emergency Regulations SRs Received to Date (Parks only) | 428 | Since March 20, 2020 |
City Operations and Mayor’s Updates
- Following the success of the #DFWOvation last Thursday, I am calling for other cities to participate this week in an event called “Thank You Thursdays,” a public celebration of our healthcare workers, first responders, and everyone providing essential services to help us get through this pandemic.
- Cheers rang out in neighborhoods across North Texas during last week’s brief Thursday night event co-hosted by Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.
- I am again asking people to give ovations at 7 p.m. on Thursday (tomorrow) and show appreciation in other ways. Learn more here and share these graphics in English and Spanish.
- The Dallas City Council took action today to pass a package of relief measures for residents and businesses that have been affected by the spread of COVID-19. We passed:
- A small business continuity program. Through this program, and in combination with funding from federal partners and private partners such as Goldman Sachs, the city will distribute $5 million in grants and loans to small businesses that had a 25% drop in revenue.
- A mortgage and rental assistance program to help those affected by COVID-19. Through a 13.7 million dollar program, the council expects to help thousands of Dallas residents stay in their homes.
- An ordinance to slow down the eviction process and encourage landlords and tenants to work together as they both face hardships because of COVID-19. The landlord-tenant ordinance provides a 21-day notice period for COVID-19-related hardships, allows for a 60-day notice if a substantial hardship can be proven, ties the ordinance to our rental assistance program, and creates a process for landlords and tenants to work together.
- The City of Dallas, Dallas County, and Parkland Health and Hospital System (hereafter “PHHS”) will partner to create a mobile testing initiative to reach certain populations in the community. Based on community needs and CDC Guidelines for testing PHHS will develop a testing schedule which will begin with testing at area nursing homes, senior living communities, homeless shelters etc. The testing schedule will be created weekly and will be submitted to the City of Dallas
- City of Dallas Community Based Testing Sites will allocate up to 40% of current approved tests to mobile testing (i.e. a quantity of 200 tests per site per day based on current approved capacity). Each mobile testing unit (for a maximum of 2) will maintain a quantity of 200 test kits on-hand daily and will be replenished to maintain that level. An increase/decrease in testing supplies will be data driven.
- Walgreens will open a drive-through testing site in southern Dallas at 2060 South Buckner Boulevard on Friday 4/24. Pre-registration will be required to get tested at this location. Details will be provided once the logistics for this process are finalized.
- Please view the refreshed COVID-19 DFW Regional Dashboard by clicking here. In addition to the statistics already on the dashboard, data points on emergency regulations, hospital capacity, lab tests, etc. have been incorporated into the dashboard for you to view at your convenience. Each tab in the Dashboard allows you to filter by date. This is a graphic in English and Spanish for you to promote the use of the dashboard.
- Just a reminder that the COVID-19 Community-Based Testing Sites have expanded their testing criteria to allow testing for more people. Criteria now includes no symptoms required for first responders, DART drivers, healthcare workers, grocery store and essential retail store workers beginning April 20.
- Graphics are available with the new testing criteria for you to share: English and Spanish.
- Dallas Park and Recreation has created alphabetical guidelines to ease congestion on the Katy Trail. Starting Thursday access to the Katy Trail Thursday through Sunday, will depend on your last name. Visitors with last names starting with A-L are asked to use the Katy Trail only on Thursday and Saturday. Last names starting with M-Z are asked to use the trail Friday and Sunday.
- These are the latest stay-at-home frequently asked questions (FAQ) documents produced by the City in English and Spanish.
Updates from Dallas County
- The Dallas County Commissioners voted to extend the stay at home order through May 15.
- Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) reported 81 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the total case count in Dallas County to 2,683.
- DCHHS also reported one additional death, bringing the total to 65 to date. The one additional death being reported today is a man in his 60’s.
- Please see the latest summary report for more information. The report contains race/ethnicity information on the confirmed tests and deaths and important information comparing influenza ICU admissions and hospitalizations and COVID-19 ICU admissions and hospitalizations.
- Of cases requiring hospitalization, most have been either over 60 years of age or have had at least one known high-risk chronic health condition.
- Diabetes has been an underlying high-risk health condition reported in about a third of all hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
- Of the 65 total deaths reported to date, over a third (38%) have been associated with long-term care facilities.
Updates from Collin County
- There are 14 net new cases of COVID-19 in Collin County today, as of 3:30 p.m.
- There are 149 current cases of COVID-19 in Collin County (total cases minus recovered and deceased).
- There have been 584 total confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Collin County.
- 421 people have successfully recovered; 17 are hospitalized; 132 remain in home isolation.
- There have been 14 confirmed deaths associated with COVID-19 in Collin County.
- There have been 4,288 negative COVID-19 tests in Collin County.
- There are 873 Persons Under Monitoring (PUM) in Collin County.
Updates from Denton County
- Denton County Public Health (DCPH) has announced one additional Denton County resident has died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the total to 19 deaths due to COVID-19 in Denton County. The patient, a male resident of Denton in his 60s, was a previously reported home isolated, local transmission COVID-19 case in Denton County.
- DCPH is also announcing 25 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Denton County, including one case within Denton County Jail. This increases the cumulative, countywide total to 644 confirmed COVID19 cases. DCPH is also announcing 5 newly recovered COVID-19 cases within the county.
- The laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 Denton State Supported Living Center (DSSLC) resident total remains 54. The cumulative, countywide long-term care facility (LTCF) resident total remains 17. Staff who test positive for COVID-19 from DSSLC and over 100 LTCFs in Denton County are included within the totals for the town, city, unincorporated area, and/or county in which the staff person resides.
- Visit www.dentoncounty.gov/COVIDstats for local COVID-19 data including interactive heat maps, charts, and city and zip code data. Visit www.dentoncounty.gov/COVID19 for COVID-19 health and safety information.
Updates from the State
- During a press conference yesterday, Governor Greg Abbott announced that 1,579,000 unemployment claims have been filed, with more than 1.4 billion dollars paid out for those claims. That means 80% of the eligible claims have been paid and the remaining 20% will be processed quickly due to the increased participation of legislative staffers.
- Governor Abbott announced that Texas received approval from the Department of Agriculture to allow SNAP recipients to use their benefits to buy groceries online and encouraged them to visit www.yourtexasbenefits.com to find participating retailers in their region.
- Governor Abbott announced that on Monday, April 27th he will publicize his plan to reopen the economy.
Dallas Resident Resource Guides
There are a number of resources available to residents and businesses impacted by the emergency regulations that have been put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. The City of Dallas has created a Resident Resource Guide with information on:
- Rental assistance;
- Filing for unemployment;
- Connecting displaced workers to jobs;
- Food assistance;
- Help paying utilities (note: most utility disconnections have been halted during this time);
- Mental health resources;
- Business loan information; and
- Other key resources.
The guide has been updated and is available in both English and Spanish:
Dallas Regional Chamber Resources
The Dallas Regional Chamber has set up a site for additional resources for residents and businesses, including information on various state and federal programs. Check out their resource guide here and their site to connect displaced workers to employment opportunities during the pandemic here.
United Way Resource Guides
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas has put together a list of resources available to Dallas area residents in English and Spanish. Resources include the North Texas Food Bank’s open food pantries, tax filing information, and job opportunities.
Senior Source Resources
This is the link to the Senior Source’s COVID-19 resource guide. The guide includes information for seniors, including information on specific grocery store hours dedicated to seniors, and guidance for those who are caring for seniors during the pandemic.
If you have more questions about COVID-19, including what you should do if you believe you might have the virus, check out the City’s web page, www.DallasCityHall.com/coronavirus.
Please share this update. The official page to sign up to receive this newsletter is here.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please reply to this email or call my office at (214) 670-3301.
Sincerely,
Eric Johnson
Mayor
City of Dallas
[email protected]
(214) 670-3301