North Texas COVID-19 hospitalizations stay below 15% for second straight day
DALLAS - Health officials said that starting this week, we will have a better picture of any COVID-19 spread from Thanksgiving gatherings.
This as the current hospital patient total is slightly decreasing.
For eight straight days, the North Texas region stayed above 15% COVID patient levels, causing bars to close and other businesses to reduce capacity to 50%.
Dr. Mark Casanova said that while the rollbacks can be helpful, it’s not the main source of COVID spread.
“We've not seen modest reductions in occupancy rates have any meaningful impact, what it boils down to is those individual decisions,” he explained.
Health officials said family and friend gatherings in homes where no masks are being worn have aided in the recent surge.
They said the next 14 days will be a real test.
It will show whether those who held family gatherings for Thanksgiving took proper COVID precautions.
“That’s going to unfold in another week to two. That takes us in very close proximity to Christmas, not to mention it’s winter and more individuals are gathering,” Dr. Casanova added.
There’s some good news that developed this weekend.
Saturday and Sunday, the COVID-19 patient percentage dropped below the governor’s threshold for business reopening rollbacks, which is 15%.
If COVID-19 hospitalizations stay below 15% for five more days, the reopening rollbacks will no longer be in effect here in North Texas.
The big four counties in the Metroplex continue to determine the bed capacity threshold.
On Sunday, Tarrant County reported 842 COVID patients. That’s down from the 896 patients reported a week ago.
Dallas County reported 764 COVID patients Saturday, which is down from 806 nearly a week ago.
In a few weeks, hospital workers and those in nursing homes should start to receive COVID-19 vaccines.
Dr. Casanova said he doesn’t want that news to give some a false sense of security.
“If you are viewing this news story and you are of average health and you are in your 40s and 50s and don’t have any serious medical issues, it may be until that April-May range before that vaccine supply trickles down to you,” he explained.
Though there is a concerning stat in Dallas County.
Since November 1, more than 5,800 students and school staff have tested positive for the virus.
RELATED: