City of Dallas COVID-19 Update: May 27
Friend — Today, the Dallas City Council unanimously passed a “Dallas First” procurement resolution I proposed that would help keep Dallas taxpayers’ money in Dallas and stimulate our local economy, which has been hit hard by COVID-19. Learn more about this new resolution and other actions the City Council took today in this press release and in The Dallas Morning News. Check out the latest updates below on the City of Dallas’s response to COVID-19 and some information that might be of interest to you: Confirmed Positive Cases of COVID-19 in North Texas 9,385 in Dallas County (197 are new) & 221 deaths (8 are new) 5,190 in Tarrant County (151 are new) & 155 deaths (11 are new) (2,010 recovered) 1,285 in Denton County (30 are new) & 30 deaths (0 new) (644 recovered) 1,217 in Collin County (28 are new) & 33 deaths (0 new) (869 recovered) 312 in Ellis County (17 are new) & 13 deaths (1 is new) (263 recovered) 175 in Rockwall County (7 are new) & 12 deaths (0 new) (146 recovered) 194 in Kaufman County (15 are new) & 1 death (0 new) (167 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: 6049 Beds occupied: 3,716 (61%) Total ICU beds: 885 ICU beds occupied: 578 (65%) Total ventilators: 980 Ventilators in use: 336 (34%) To provide more context on how many of these hospitalizations are COVID-19 related, below is the latest update from Dallas County on the number of COVID-19 case hospitalizations. COVID-19 Lab Reports Below are the COVID-19 testing numbers reported by public, private, and commercial labs to the City of Dallas today: 345 COVID-19 tests 34 positive 301 negative Testing numbers from labs to date Total tests to date by public, private, and commercial labs* 52,088 Total tests to date by Dallas County Health and Human Services 3,903 Total tests to date private labs* 48,185 Total negative tests to date* 43,320 *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 American Airlines Center and Ellis Davis Field House today: Total number of visitors today: 969 Total tested today: 949 Total number of visitors since the sites opened: 44,506 Total number of tests since the sites opened: 39,389 Smart Summer Registration for SMART Summer, a virtual summer reading program, is open. Read every day to earn incentives, virtual badges, and grand prizes. For more information, click here. Hire Dallas! I am hosting Hire Dallas!, a virtual job fair on June 3 and 4 that will connect Dallas workers displaced during the COVID-19 pandemic to job opportunities. Learn more and pre-register at http://hiredallas.easyvirtualfair.com Initiative Recently, I announced the Mayor’s Milk Initiative — a partnership with Borden Dairy, Dallas ISD, and local faith leaders — to help those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the initiative, Borden will deliver thousands of gallons of milk to Dallas ISD elementary schools and certain houses of worship. From there, volunteers will provide the milk for free to those in need. This is made possible because Borden, which is based in Dallas, is distributing fresh milk to nonprofits through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Farmers to Families Food Box Program, which is part of the Coronavirus Farm Assistance Program (CFAP). Check out CBS 11’s story on the initiative by clicking here. This is the link to the website that has the list of distribution sites and more information. The next site will be open on Thursday in East Dallas. This initiative will ease the burden on families facing hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. And as this initiative demonstrates, Dallas will get through the pandemic’s challenges by working together, caring for one another, and helping those in need in any way possible. Celebrate 2020 Seniors Week The Class of 2020 has been impacted by social distancing measures and missed out on many school activities and events, including annual senior traditions. These students, however, despite the many unique challenges, continued to work hard and stay focused in order to graduate from high school. Join in next week from May 26-30 to honor them by decorating your mailbox with ribbon of any color. 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 launched Friday, May 15. To be eligible for COVID-19 Mobile Testing, residents must: • Reside in any ZIP code in the City of Dallas; 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. 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. Executive Order FAQs TheCity Attorney’s Office provided updated FAQs in English and Spanishtoday for the Governor’s Executive Orders and the City of Dallas Emergency Regulations. Updates from Dallas County Dallas County Health and Human Services is reporting 197 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total case count in Dallas County to 9,385, with 221 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 221 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 5/26). 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 only updates the summary report on Tuesdays and Fridays. Updates from Collin County There are 28 new cases (net) of COVID-19 in Collin County today, as of 3:30 p.m. There are 315 current cases of COVID-19 in Collin County (total cases minus recovered and deceased). There have been 1,217 total confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Collin County. 869 people have successfully recovered; 22 are hospitalized; 293 remain in home isolation. There have been 33 confirmed deaths associated with COVID-19 in Collin County. There have been 16,146 negative COVID-19 tests in Collin County. There are 2,147 Persons Under Monitoring (PUM) in Collin County. Updates from Denton County Denton County Public Health (DCPH) has announced 30 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Denton County. This increases the cumulative, countywide total to 1,285 confirmed COVID-19 cases. DCPH is also reporting 8 newly recovered cases of COVID-19. DCPH is providing a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing center in The Colony on Friday, May 29, 2020. The testing center will be held at The Colony Five Star Complex at 4100 Blair Oaks Drive from 8 AM –12 PM. Eligible community members are those who have symptoms of COVID-19, or have been symptomatic within the past 7 days. All essential employees are also eligible for free testing. Community members must call to pre-register for testing at 940-349-2585. 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. Walmart Drive-Thru Testing Site Walmart has opened COVID-19 drive-thru sites in Dallas County. Two of these sites are located in the City of Dallas at 15757 Coit Rd. and 9410 Webb Chapel Rd. Appointments 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 |