The director of the Tarrant County Health Department recently fielded many COVID-19 related questions, including attempting to settle the debate over whether it is wise to wear masks.
As of April 9, Texas reported 10,230 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 199 deaths. Tarrant County had 588 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
One of the queries was about the county’s inclusion of provisional data in its reporting, which director Vinny Taneja explained was the case because "there wasn’t enough time to get all the demographics verified.”
“If you wait on that, it will be a few days,” Taneja said. “So we decided to include provisional data so we can include how many cases are reported in our community every day.”
Another participant asked if the number of coronavirus cases was still increasing.
“Yes,” Taneja replied. “I really hope we don’t get as far as Dallas is, but it won’t surprise me if we get there.”
Asked how long will the COVID-19 pandemic last, Taneja surmised it could “last for awhile.”
“It’s a very vague statement because nobody knows,” he said. “It could be over in two weeks, it could be over in two months.”
The director acknowledged that not everyone in Tarrant County could get tested.
“There is not enough supply in the entire health care system right now to meet an individual’s need to know,” he said. “We’re having to apply certain criteria to our testing abilities.”
Taneja added that private labs are getting swamped “because there is not enough capacity.”
And on the subject of masks, Taneja said at this time they should not be worn by the average resident.
“We’ve been trying to educate people that we do not believe there is a need at this point for them to wear masks,” the director said. “When I recommend it is if I have a respiratory illness. And when I cough, sneeze or talk, those droplets will be stopped by the bandanna, and I will be less likely to expose other people around me.”
Earlier the week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reserved course on its stance on masks. Initially not recommending them, the CDC now urges people to wear cloth masks when having to complete essential tasks.
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