DALLAS _ When a 24-year-old Dallas County man who had been jailed Sunday claimed he became sick after traveling abroad, he was taken to Parkland Hospital to see if he developed symptoms of the new coronavirus, a county official said Tuesday.
But it also set off a chain reaction that resulted in five police officers temporarily being sent home Sunday as a precaution after they came in contact with the man.
"He had actually gone to Japan, and he used that as an opportunity to say he had fever, chills and flu-like symptoms _ which he didn't have," County Judge Clay Jenkins said Tuesday of the 24-year-old man who was charged with a domestic-related assault.
Jenkins said he thought the man made a false claim about having the COVID-19 illness to avoid jail.
"He knew the buzz words, so he could be taken to Parkland to get checked out," Jenkins said.
"And that's going to happen," Jenkins said Tuesday morning during a break at the Dallas County Commissioners Court meeting. "Every day people say things because they don't want to go to jail."
Parkland Hospital officials said Tuesday they were still monitoring the 24-year-old, who has been under observation at the hospital since Sunday night.
"We are monitoring the person for symptoms out of an abundance of caution," Parkland spokeswoman April Foran said Monday. "We cannot offer comment beyond those facts."
Speaking slowly and forcefully, Commissioner John Wiley Price, said: "There is no coronavirus in the jail. None! There is no issue in the Dallas County Jail."
It all started Sunday morning when Dallas officers responded to a disturbance call at an East Dallas apartment. When police arrived, Dallas Fire-Rescue had taken the 24-year-old man to an unnamed local hospital for injuries he sustained from an assault, according to a police statement.
After medical staff released the man back to Dallas officers, he was taken to jail and charged with assault of a family member, police said.
Jail officers then reported to police a "possible case of COVID-19" involving the man they'd arrested Sunday, according to a police statement.
All five officers who came in contact with the man "were notified of the potential exposure and given a day off for precautionary reasons," according to the statement. The officers were recently told to go back to work, police said.
During Tuesday's meeting, Dallas County Health Department Director Dr. Philip Huang said Dallas County so far remains free of the coronavirus, but the seasonal flu remains a high priority. He said there was still time to get vaccinated.
So far, 17 people have died from the flu in Dallas County during the 2019-20 flu season, Huang said, and hundreds more have been hospitalized for flu symptoms.
In terms of the coronavirus, the county is primarily focused on planning and preparing for a possible outbreak, Huang said. That includes monitoring people who have traveled recently from China, where COVID-19 is believed to have originated.
The health department is also communicating with hospitals, schools and other community organizations to disseminate information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Huang said. Much of that information is to emphasize simple prevention measures.
"So that's wash your hands," he said. "Don't rub your eyes, nose and mouth. Cough or sneeze into your sleeve. Stay at home if you're sick."
The health department is also ramping up its laboratory capacity and hopes to have the ability to perform local testing for COVID-19 "very shortly," Huang said.
"It's not a time to panic, but it is a time to be preparing for whatever level of response will be needed," he said.
Marshal Isaacs, the medical director for Dallas Fire-Rescue, said that although there hasn't been a confirmed case of the virus here, it could arrive in Dallas at any time.
Local EMS providers have been preparing and planning for the arrival of the virus since it first came to the United States in January. Now, Dallas and 11 other cities that use a combined EMS system through UT Southwestern and Parkland hospitals have advanced guidelines for first responders who may come in contact with potential coronavirus patients.
Isaacs said that now is the time to have a plan _ from the city level down to families and individuals _ for when the virus does arrive in North Texas.
"We don't want anybody to panic," he said. "But we want everyone to have a healthy and appropriate level of concern."
