Gov. Greg Abbott Teases The Reopening Of Texas Bars, A Dallas Pastor Who Attended The White House Super-Spreader Is Not Following CDC Guidelines And More.

What a whirlwind these past few days have been, right? Every time we think 2020 can’t put its foot on the gas any harder, it proves us wrong. So much so, we won’t blame you if you missed some of the latest pandemic-related updates in North Texas. Get caught up below:

  • On Monday, Dallas County reported an additional 450 cases and 1 new death. Of Monday’s cases, the total number of confirmed cases clocked in at 400, with 50 probable cases. This brings the confirmed case count to 83,448 and the death toll to 1,037.

  • As of Monday, 4,016 of 5,822 hospital beds in Dallas were occupied, bringing the total occupancy to 69%. 626 of 919 ICU beds were occupied, and 332 of Dallas’ 995 ventilators are in use.

  • A Dallas pastor who was at the super-spreader event that led to Donald Trump’s COVID-19 contraction is refusing to follow CDC guidelines. Megachurch pastor Jack graham, who was in attendance at a White House Rose Garden event that resulted in at least 10 people testing positive, is not self-isolating despite the CDC’s safety recommendations. The Prestonwood Baptist pastor was sitting directly in front of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has tested positive for the virus.
  • Doctors expressed concern Friday morning over Trump’s condition but after administering 2 Litre oxygen saturation he has improved to showing mild symptoms. Doctors announced that Trump had also undergone treatment with the steroid Dexamethasone, as well as an experimental intravenous medication called Ramdesivir, which does not currently have FDA approval. Trump was released from the hospital Monday.
  • Gov. Greg Abbott teased a possible reopening of bars in Texas. On Monday, Abbott tweeted “Texans have continued to keep COVID under control,” attached to a gif of beer mugs with a message of “Cheers!” As of now, bars could open to limited capacity if they applied for certain licenses and began selling food or hosting food trucks on site.

  • After culminating at a peak of nearly 300,000 North Texas jobs lost in April, monthly numbers have revealed a steady rise in employment. August numbers showed North Texas down 140,300 jobs from the same time last year. Though unemployment rates are dropping, they remain almost twice as high as pre-pandemic levels.
  • Several students were asked to leave SMU’s weekend game against the University of Memphis for not following mask mandates and social distancing guidelines. According to the DMN, the problem became apparent at least week’s home opener after, which the school consulted with government and health officials who provided police personnel to assist in monitoring policy compliance at Saturday’s game. While some students left dismayed, others complied with guidelines and were allowed to stay.
  • The 2.2 billion dollar Irving-based data and analytics company HMS is considering selling as an option due to the coronavirus impact. HMS reportedly employed around 1,000 people at its Irving headquarters alone. The company’s net year-over-year income has decreased by 77%.
  • The World Health Organization estimates that 10% of the world population may have been infected as that the disease is still on the rise in many parts of the world. This statement came from Dr. Michael Ryan at a Covid-19 special session for WHO’s executive board. Confirmed tallies number at 35 million worldwide with over 7 million stemming from the U.S. alone. However, this new estimate would put that number at 760 million of the planet’s 7.6 billion population, as experts have continually hinted that the true figure is far greater than that of confirmed cases.

That does it for the biweekly coronavirus update. Please wash your hands, mask up and remember to maintain adequate social distancing when possible.

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