Tarrant County sees surge in coronavirus hospitalizations, positivity rate
After months of decline, Tarrant County officials said Tuesday they are worried about a surge in coronavirus hospitalizations, the positivity rate and hospital visits from people with COVID-like symptoms.
Vinny Taneja, the county’s public health director, told the county commissioners data shows trouble is brewing. The county has reported more than 52,000 cases and more than 675 deaths.
After falling to 4% in September, the percentage of hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients has risen to 7%, according to county data. The county’s positivity rate is at 11% and has not declined since since June and early August, when the rate fell from 19% to 9%. Since September, the positivity rate has hovered between around 9% and 11%.
Taneja said the goal is to get the positivity rate below 10%. A high positivity rate means that the virus is still very much spreading in Tarrant County, he said.
The percentage hospital visits for COVID-like illness is up to 2.4%, and has been rising since early September. Health officials use the metric to gauge where the community is heading in its battle with coronavirus, Taneja said. When this metric rises, the county expects cases and hospitalizations to go up.
The recent surge is attributed to the Labor Day holiday, the opening of schools and Gov. Greg Abbott opening most businesses to 75% capacity.
Taneja said for the moment the county’s message remains the same: Keep wearing masks, practice social distance and stay home as much as possible.
County Judge Glen Whitley said that when he extended the mask mandate until at least Nov. 30, he had in mind that the county could see a surge following Labor Day and the start of school. He believes the surge could’ve been worse if the mandate had expired.
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 5:49 PM.
