Protests, graduations, parties might cause Tarrant COVID cases to spike, officials say
Graduations, protests, family gatherings and big parties.
These events are threats to the health of the community as coronavirus cases continue to grow in Tarrant County, Texas and across the country, Public Health Director Vinny Taneja said Tuesday.
That’s why health officials are working to add attendance of large public events to the criteria that allows individuals to be tested for COVID-19, he said.
While that should soon be an option, Taneja still cautioned people to take precautions if they participate in these types of events.
“All of those group gatherings do give us concern,” he said Tuesday after giving a coronavirus update to Tarrant County cCommissioners. “What we do remind people is always to take precautions: Wear a mask when you’re out in public, stay socially distant.
“If all of those things are done by everybody, we can go about doing our business in a safe way.”
This update comes as the latest numbers show 6,433 coronavirus cases and 184 deaths in Tarrant County.
Taneja said he’s concerned that cases across Texas are on an upward trend, surpassing 75,000 positive cases, as the number of Tarrant County cases is on a downward slope.
“Our state is having issues,” he said. “And we are a mobile society. What’s keeping things from happening here?”
State officials have attributed the statewide increase in cases to hot spots such as meat packing plants, nursing homes and prisons.
Taneja said the peak of cases in Tarrant County — which at times was projected to hit in May or June — occurred at the end of April and the beginning of May.
County commissioners on Tuesday also moved forward with plans to hire dozens of people for the Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, who will work on contact tracing. These jobs will be paid for through National Dislocated Worker Grant money.
Contact tracers talk to everyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and make lists of the people with whom they’ve had direct contact. Workers then track down those people to let them know that they have been exposed and should self-quarantine for 14 days.
