Coronavirus threat level upgraded to red in Dallas County as cases climb

Dallas County officials on Wednesday raised the county’s coronavirus perceived risk level back to red after lowering it six weeks ago to orange.

That means Dallas County officials want you to think twice before getting a haircut, eating out or heading to the mall as new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations begin to climb.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins announced the change in his daily coronavirus report, which noted 504 new cases and one additional death. The county’s seven-day average of new confirmed and probable cases is 374, an increase from the previous daily average of 346 the week before.

“With a new and quickly escalating wave of COVID-19 cases hitting North Texas, it is more important than ever that we make good decisions,” Jenkins said.

Red, the most severe level, means people should consider limiting travel and activities only to essential matters. In-person voting in Dallas County, which began Tuesday with record numbers, will not be affected, Jenkins said.

“There has been no known spread from voting or cases attributed back to polling places, and this we believe is due to the extraordinary measures everyone is taking to keep you safe at the polls," he said in his statement.

Dr. Philip Huang, the county’s director of public health, said the county is taking numerous precautions to help protect voters. But those steps aren’t always possible for those activities the county is now discouraging, such as haircuts.

“You can’t do the haircut without being close contact … so that’s why there are some distinctions,” Huang said. “There are ways to [vote] safely, and that’s important.”

Life in North Texas has picked up substantially since Labor Day.

While masks and temperature checks at doors are the norm, traffic has increased and shopping centers, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, museums and libraries are almost back in full swing as they’re now allowed to operate at 75% capacity.

Those establishments can keep operating at that capacity and remain unaffected by Jenkins' statements because Gov. Greg Abbott sets the occupancy guidelines. More recently, Abbott made it possible for counties to reopen bars. Jenkins has said he’s not ready to give the green light, while nearby Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties have done so.

Dallas ISD, like many school districts around the state, has also resumed in-person classes. In Texas, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases among students and staff is nearly 13,000, according to state figures.

The move to red is sure to incite Jenkins' critics — if they even acknowledge the proclamation at all. Since the start of the pandemic, Jenkins, a Democrat and the highest-ranking elected official in the county, has battled Abbott, a Republican, over how to navigate the global health crisis. Jenkins has also taken jabs from conservative activists, including Shelley Luther, the beauty salon owner who is now running for a state Senate seat.

Wednesday’s announcement comes after two weeks of steady increases in confirmed hospital patients with COVID-19 and other similar data that the county tracks. Dr. Philip Huang, the county’s health director, telegraphed the shift in recommendations to county commissioners last week, saying the county’s new cases were disturbing.

On Wednesday, Huang of particular concern of late is how consistently multiple metrics have been worsening in recent weeks. He pointed to emergency room admissions for COVID-19, ICU useage and hospital admissions.

“All of these indicators going in that same direction and all of the hospital systems reporting seeing the same thing — these are when it indicates it’s really concerning,” Huang said. “And we’ve seen that it can go up really fast once it starts going up.”

County commissioners impressed upon Huang their desire for clearer hospital data, especially as flu season begins.

The nonbinding COVID threat-level guide, written by public health, epidemiology and infectious disease experts, was first published in May as the state began to reopen the economy during the pandemic. It was designed as a way for county leaders, who have been more conservative in their pandemic response, to communicate to the public how to safely navigate a new reality.

The shift to orange in early September came after weeks of falling cases and steady hospitalization rates.

Staff writer Jared Weber contributed to this report.