Tarrant County sends text message warning of coronavirus surge during Thanksgiving
Fearing an onslaught of new coronavirus cases, Tarrant County Public Health officials have sent a text message to 800,000 county residents reminding them to act responsibility over Thanksgiving and the weekend.
The message urged residents to stay home as much as possible, to wear a face mask and to only have Thanksgiving celebrations with their household as coronavirus continues to surge. It also asked residents to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms and to get tested if needed. In total, 826,000 messages were sent, according to a county spokesperson.
Health officials also shared the message on Facebook and Twitter.
Public health officials sent the message the day before Thanksgiving as Tarrant County comes off a record-breaking week of coronavirus cases. The county reported a record 9,838 COVID cases in the past week, surpassing the record of 8,379 set Nov. 8-14.
Vinny Taneja, the county’s public health director, said on Nov. 3 there is a potential for cases to spike if people have a normal Thanksgiving. He urged people to not have large gatherings and do things virtually.
Tarrant County used the emergency alert company Everbridge Resident Connection to send the message, which collects verified telephone numbers from public and private records.
