Tarrant County sees good news in COVID data, but braces for spike when school starts

Aug. 4--FORT WORTH -- Coronavirus data -- ranging from lab positivity rates to hospitalizations -- is trending downward in Tarrant County, giving public health officials hope that cases of the novel virus will keep dropping.

This news comes at a crucial time, as some schools are preparing to open, said Vinny Taneja, the county's public health director.

That's why residents need to vigilantly work to "bend the curve" of COVID cases, he said.

"If we stay home as much as possible and push our data down, and then schools reopen, then we should be able to handle any (school) outbreaks," Taneja told Tarrant County Commissioners on Tuesday.

He urges people to wear masks, stay home as much as possible, stay six feet apart when possible, avoid large gatherings and wash their hands or use sanitizer.

"I am hopeful," Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said. "I think the masks are making a difference."

There have been around 30,000 coronavirus cases and almost 400 COVID-19 deaths reported in Tarrant County.

But right now, the number of COVID deaths aren't spiking as much as they have at some points.

In addition to that, hospital numbers are coming down and the positivity rate, which was about 20% at one point, has dropped to about 13.5%, Taneja said. The rate isn't where it needs to be, which is under 5%, but it may be on its way, he said.

"This is all good news," Taneja said. "We need to continue the effort."

These numbers come after Whitley on June 25 ordered residents to wear face coverings in businesses and outdoor gatherings with more than 100 people. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott followed with a statewide order on July 2. Whitley has since renewed the Tarrant order.

But some cities in Tarrant County and across Texas aren't issuing citations and fines to enforce the order, and some have pointed to language in Abbott's own order as the reason why. Whitley said the governor's order prevents law enforcers from detaining people who won't wear masks, which means they can't issue tickets.

"I think it's time to issue citations to those folks who refuse to follow the governor's orders," Whitley said.

School plans

Taneja said public health officials will be working with schools to find ways to safely reopen their buildings, including creating a school outbreak contact tracing team.

But he said he fears COVID cases could be reported soon after the doors open, as they have in other states where schools opened.

"That's a lot of kids together in an area where it's hard to maintain social distancing," he said. "We are going to try to make it as low risk as possible."

But, "we are expecting outbreaks to occur."

Initially, public health officials in Tarrant County, trying to ward off a spike in COVID-19 cases, ordered schools to hold the first six weeks of classes online. Then Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on July 28 issued a nonbinding guidance that health officials couldn't do that and that only school officials could determine how, when and whether to open schools.

Some districts, such as Fort Worth, delayed the start of school until Sept. 8 -- and said at least the first four weeks of school would be online only. Other schools have a variety of start dates and different approaches to the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.

"Different dates are starting to appear," Taneja said. "We will work with all of them to give them good advice on how to safely reopen."

West Nile

As public health officials continue to focus on coronavirus, they are starting to be increasingly concerned about the West Nile virus that is at record levels in mosquitoes this summer.

They put out an advisory July 30 asking residents to protect themselves. And they've begun ground spraying to try to cut down on the mosquito population.

Taneja called on residents to do what they can to get rid of standing water and any mosquito populations on their property -- and to wear long sleeves and pants when they go outside.

The first death of a person by West Nile virus in Tarrant County was reported July 21.

If people don't work to eliminate mosquito pools, "we expect more human cases to occur," Taneja said.

"This would be the time to pull out all the stops to prevent a West Nile outbreak," he said. "If our ground game isn't strong ... that leaves us little choice but to come back and talk about aerial spraying."

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