Tarrant County

Tarrant County Lowers COVID-19 Community Spread Level

The lowering of spread levels depends on the positivity rate and the overall case rate per 100,000 people

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Tarrant County Public Health lowered the COVID-19 community spread level from "high" to "substantial" Wednesday due to declining hospitalizations and case counts.

NBC 5 reported Tuesday that Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja was considering lowering the spread level.

“If everything holds and the data is stable, we will be lowering that spread level from high to substantial,” Taneja said Tuesday.

The lowering of spread levels depends on two factors: positivity rate remaining below 10% and the overall case rate being below 100 cases per 100,000 people. According to Taneja’s briefing before county commissioners Tuesday, all indicators used to measure COVID-19 trends are declining.

“It’s a relative thing. We’re still at a substantial spread. There’s a lot of disease activity out there, but we’re seeing it on the way down. So, we’re excited about that,” he said.

Taneja cautioned that with the upcoming holidays and with international travel on the rise, there are things to be cautious about and that people should continue to take common-sense mitigation efforts like masking and vaccination.

“Let’s remain diligent about this and get the vaccine. We got holidays coming up. We don’t want a surge to come through on that deal,” Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said.

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