Last week, the level of COVID-19 community spread was raised back to “high” by Tarrant County Public Health, reports NBC DFW.
“That is based on case rate,” said Vinny Taneja, Tarrant County Public Health director. “We’re at 110 cases per 100,000 population. If you watch the daily numbers, we’re starting to report 400-500 cases every day.” The county previously lowered the level to “substantial” in November.
On Tuesday, Taneja urged people to practice “common sense methods” to slow the spread of the virus.
“It’s widely available. There’s really no wait anywhere. Mostly, pharmacies have it. Public health locations have it, a lot of doctors’ offices have it,” said Taneja. “We’ve had over 1.1 million people fully vaccinated in the county, but only about 220,000 or so have had their booster dose.”
Local business owners and operators, like CEO Toan Luong of Ampersand in Fort Worth, pay close attention to the spread levels issued by the county. Luong says that precautions are still taken at their shop, and they have parameters if employees get sick. Masks are at the discretion of employees and customers.
“We require them to go get a COVID test and to take all the measures before coming back,” said Luong. “Of course, they have to come back with a negative test result.”
Luong also stated that Ampersand has been operating for nearly five years and business in 2021 is better than 2020. He added they are not abandoning safety measures that have been in place. Disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer are also at their store.
“We’re doing whatever we can right now,” he said. “It’s always changing. As a small business owner, it’s our part to do what we can. We’re here to help.”
According to Tarrant County Public Health, around 52% of all Tarrant County residents are fully vaccinated.
