City of Dallas COVID-19 Update: May 14
 Friend — Earlier today, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Rob Kaplan, and I participated in a moderated discussion regarding how Dallas, the State of Texas, and the country have been impacted by COVID-19. The conversation was moderated by KERA’s Krys Boyd and will air on the next episode of Think. You can watch by clicking on the image below. Check out the latest updates on the City of Dallas’s response to COVID-19: Confirmed Positive Cases of COVID-19 in North Texas 6,837 in Dallas County (235 are new) & 159 deaths (recovery numbers unknown) 4,211 in Tarrant County (135 are new) & 117 deaths (828 recovered) 1,016 in Denton County (27 are new) & 28 deaths (541 recovered) 993 in Collin County (15 are new) & 30 deaths (661 recovered) 259 in Ellis County & 11 deaths (173 recovered) 138 in Kaufman County & 1 death (102 recovered) 138 in Rockwall County & 5 deaths (75 recovered) Hospital Reports Here are the bed and ventilator capacity statistics for today as reported by 25 hospitals in the City of Dallas: Total beds: 5,713 Beds occupied: 3,685 (65%) Total ICU beds: 823 ICU beds occupied: 554 (67%) Total ventilators: 948 Ventilators in use: 334 (35%) COVID-19 Lab Reports Below are the COVID-19 testing numbers reported by public, private, and commercial labs to the City of Dallas today: 533 COVID-19 tests 39 positive 469 negative Testing numbers from labs to date Total tests to date by public, private, and commercial labs* 33,214 Total tests to date by Dallas County Health and Human Services 3,316 Total tests to date private labs* 29,898 Total negative tests to date* 27,718 *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. Note: these numbers DO NOT include the community-based testing site numbers since those tests are conducted in a lab not in the City of Dallas. COVID-19 Dashboard The City of Dallas has created a COVID-19 Dashboard containing data that is updated daily on COVID-19 cases, ventilator and bed capacity, lab tests, demographic information, and other critical data. Check it out by clicking on the image below. Community-Based Testing Sites The United States Department of Health and Human Services notified the City of Dallas yesterday that they will be extending support of the two COVID-19 Community-Based Testing Sites (CBTS) through June. The support was originally set to end on May 31, 2020, but I worked with our partners to push for this extension, and it was great news to hear it was granted. The numbers reported from the testing sites for May 14 are as follows: American Airlines Center, Ellis Davis Field House, and Mobile Testing Total number of visitors today: 1,034 Total tested today: 999 Total number of visitors since the sites opened: 35,108 Total number of tests since the sites opened: 29,397 New Mobile Testing Program The Dallas City Council unanimously approved a contract for mobile testing. This service will provide equity in the fight against this pandemic by ensuring testing access for vulnerable and underserved people who lack transportation to the COVID-19 testing sites. While this disease has pushed people away from each other physically, it should not tear people apart and deepen the divide in Dallas between the haves and have-nots. The City will pay for the contract with UrgentCare2Go using $660,000 of funds provided by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The mobile testing is set to launch Friday, May 15. To be eligible for COVID-19 Mobile Testing, residents must: • Reside in one the following ZIP codes: 75215, 75216, 75217 or 75227. • And NOT have transportation and NOT have the means to get to a testing site. Additionally, residents must have had recent direct contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19 or at least one of the three symptoms listed below: • Temperature of 99.6 or higher • Cough • Shortness of breath Residents undergoing mobile testing should understand this service is for COVID-19 testing only and not for medical or life-threatening medical emergencies. The COVID-19 mobile testing appointments can be scheduled between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., 7 days a week through the UrgentCare2GO screening line by calling 1-888-601-0568. COVID-19 mobile testing appointments will be scheduled at NO COST to eligible residents during two-hour time slots with a maximum capacity of 60 appointments a day. COVID-19 Health and Healthcare Access Czar In case you missed it: I recently named Dr. Kelvin Baggett the City of Dallas COVID-19 Health and Healthcare Access Czar. In his role, Dr. Baggett, a seasoned healthcare executive and physician, will assess and lead efforts to increase testing and contact tracing and promote health measures, especially in underserved communities in Dallas. Read more about Dr. Baggett and his new role in this newsletter and in news stories from the following outlets: WBAP, NBC5, The Dallas Morning News, FOX 4, and CBS 11. Generosity in a time of need The Aga Khan Council for Central United States, a social governance body of the Ismaili Muslim community, donated 10,000 surgical masks, 10,000 pairs of gloves, and 1,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to the City of Dallas today. Those donations will be distributed to City of Dallas first responders and front-line workers.  SMU quarterback Shane Buechele and Paige Vasquez, who works for the Dallas Mavericks organization, dropped off a $50,000 check today for the Dallas Mayor’s Disaster Relief Fund, which is sponsored by The Dallas Foundation. See the photo here and click here to donate to that fund. The donations come after Goldman Sachs recently announced that the company is donating $110,000 to the Mayor’s Disaster Relief Fund, which will help the city’s COVID-19 relief efforts. You can read more about the donation here. These donations demonstrate the generosity and strength of the Dallas community in times of crisis. Thank You Thursday Just a reminder to participate in #ThankYouThursday every Thursday to show appreciation for frontline workers. Learn more and let us know you plan to participate by clicking on the image below.  Updates from Dallas County Dallas County Health and Human Services is reporting 235 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total case count in Dallas County to 6,837, with 159 total deaths to date. Of cases requiring hospitalization who reported employment, over 80% have been critical infrastructure workers, with a broad range of affected occupational sectors, including: healthcare, transportation, food and agriculture, public works, finance, communications, clergy, first responders and other essential functions. Of cases requiring hospitalization, two-thirds have been under 65 years of age, and about half do not have high-risk chronic health conditions. Diabetes has been an underlying high-risk health condition reported in about a third of all hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Of the 159 total deaths reported to date, over a third have been associated with long-term care facilities. Please see the latest summary report for more information (updated 5/12). 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. Dallas County updates the summary report on Tuesdays and Fridays. Updates from Collin County There are 15 new cases (net) of COVID-19 in Collin County today, as of 3:30 p.m. There are 287 current cases of COVID-19 in Collin County (total cases minus recovered and deceased). There have been 993 total confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Collin County. 661 people have successfully recovered; 18 are hospitalized; 284 remain in home isolation. There have been 30 confirmed deaths associated with COVID-19 in Collin County. There have been 11,950 negative COVID-19 tests in Collin County. There are 1,671 Persons Under Monitoring (PUM) in Collin County. Updates from Denton County Denton County Public Health (DCPH) has announced three additional Denton County community members have died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the total to 28 deaths due to COVID-19 in Denton County. The deaths reported today include: A hospitalized male in his 70s who was a resident of the City of Denton A hospitalized male in his 60s who was a resident of The Colony A hospitalized female in her 70s who was a resident of southwest Unincorporated Denton County DCPH is also announcing 27 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Denton County. This increases the cumulative, countywide total to 1,016 confirmed COVID-19 cases. DCPH is also announcing 6 newly recovered COVID-19 cases within the county. Additional details regarding DCPH’s drive-thru COVID-19 testing centers can be found at DentonCounty.gov/COVID19testing. Visit DentonCounty.gov/COVIDstats for local COVID-19 data including interactive heat maps, charts, and city and zip code data. Visit DentonCounty.gov/COVID19 for COVID-19 health and safety information. Updates from the State Governor Greg Abbott has issued a proclamation extending his Disaster Declaration for all Texas counties in response to COVID-19. Originally issued on March 13 and extended on April 12, the Disaster Declaration provides the state a number of resources to effectively serve Texans as the Lone Star State continues to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. For more details, please visit Governor Abbott’s website. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has announced the launch of a statewide pilot program allowing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to purchase groceries online at participating retailers for curbside pickup or delivery starting Wednesday. Check here for more details about the program. More businesses are able to reopen on May 18. Read the executive orders here. Walmart Drive-Thru Testing Site Starting tomorrow, Walmart will open four additional COVID-19 drive-thru sites in Dallas County. One of these new sites is located in the City of Dallas at 15757 Coit Rd. Walmart continues to maintain operations at a previously opened drive-thru site located at 9410 Webb Chapel Rd. Appoinments must be made at www.DoINeedaCOVID19test.com, which will screen individuals to ensure they meet CDC eligibility for testing. For questions regarding testing, you can call 800-635-8611. Those being tested will need to wear a mask or cloth covering and stay in their cars for verification of eligibility criteria, ID check, and self-administered test. The site will use a self-administered nasal swab test that will allow those being tested to swab their own nose onsite while in their vehicles. Please note: testing is not available inside Walmart stores. For more information, please check out the article about the site by clicking on the image below. Kroger Health Testing Site Kroger Health is now offering a free COVID-19 testing site in South Dallas and expects to perform over 1,000 tests weekly. Residents can check if they are eligible for testing and register at https://www.krogerhealth.com/covidtesting. Eligible residents will be able to choose an appointment time online and will then receive an email confirmation. When the resident arrives for their test, they should have their photo ID ready and should leave their window rolled up for check-in until a health care practitioner comes to the car to provide the patient with the test. For more information, please see the press release in English and Spanish and click on the image below. Walgreens Testing Site Walgreens opened a drive-thru testing site in southern Dallas at 2060 South Buckner Boulevard. Pre-registration is required to get tested at this location. To receive a test, individuals must first complete an online health assessment to determine eligibility. After the test, patients will be informed of results within 24 hours. To find out more information and to sign up to get tested, click on the image below. COVID-19 Resource Hotline The City of Dallas has launched a COVID-19 resource hotline. The hotline offers information in Spanish and English 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The number is 214-670-INFO (4636). You can also find a breakdown of additional resources by clicking on the image below. 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 by clicking on the image below. 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 (214) 670-3301. Sincerely, Office of Mayor Eric Johnson 1500 Marilla Street, 5EN Dallas, Texas 75201 |
