Texas Hits Its Highest Case Count In Three Months, Dallas ISD Struggles With Learning Losses, NorthPark Skips Out On Santa Claus And More.

Earlier this week we told you Dallas County was seeing a large spike in cases, but things don’t look great for the state as whole, either. 

On top of that, it’s been three days after the election and we still don’t know who is running the country for the next four years. And because why not: Here’s a little more bad news to end your week with. 

  • On Thursday, Dallas County reported 868 additional cases and 6 new deaths. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Dallas County to 99,761 and the death toll to 1,127. The county also reported 84 probable cases.

  • On Thursday, 4,385 of 5,901 available hospital beds were occupied, bringing total occupancy to 74 percent. Also as of Thursday, 688 of 911 ICU beds were filled, and 357 of Dallas’ 981 ventilators were in use.

  • Texas reported the highest number of new COVID cases since August on Wednesday. With 9,049 new cases in a day, Texas hit a record high for a single day since August 4 the Dallas Morning News reports. On Thursday, the number came down to 8,332. The DMN also reports that John Hopkins University data shows Texas has recorded the most positive tests in the nation. However, this data doesn’t match the state numbers. The percentage of positive tests were at about 11 percent earlier this week. Fingers crossed it goes down, but we aren’t holding our breath. 
  • The DMN reports Dallas ISD suffered a learning loss due to the pandemic. About half of all Dallas ISD students have experienced a learning loss in math, while about a third experienced the same in reading classes due to the effects of the coronavirus. What’s more, Dallas ISD trustees described the loss as “horrifying.” This dip in learning especially hit Black and Latino Dallas ISD students, emphasizing the disparities among these communities. 
  • NorthPark isn’t bringing Santa to Dallas in-person this year. Instead of a traditional experience, NorthPark will bringing host a virtual Santa to greet shoppers and kids. Despite this, NorthPark will still have trains and a tree decorated with origami ornaments paired with enhanced cleaning efforts to keep everyone as safe as possible. In-person Santa Claus visits are still scheduled for other area shopping centers such as Grapevine Mills, Firewheel Town Center in Garland and North East Mall in Hurst.
  • Richardson food pantry is looking for volunteers. The Network of Community Ministries used to find workers through an organization called Get Shift Done, which finds unemployed service workers and hires them to work at different food pantries. However, funding has now run out, and after Novemeber 15, they won’t have anyone to help. This means the pantry risks not being able to provide its services, which now includes feeding over 700 families due to the pandemic. Pre-corona, the pantry assisted about 150 families, according to the DMN. To volunteer, individuals can sign up at this link. 
  • Frisco’s free drive-in COVID-19 testing site has moved to the Toyota Stadium from Dr. Pepper Ballpark. This is a self-administering site with a 89 percent accuracy rate. Instructions and materials are provided. The Toyota Stadium is located at 9200 World Cup Way and will offer testing will at the Red Corolla lot.

That’s it for this week. Check back in on Tuesday for updates over the next few days. Until then, stay masked up and socially distanced.

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