COVID-19 hospitalizations trigger business limits for Waco area; Testing surge aimed at limiting

[TexasTowelie]

COVID-19 hospitalizations trigger business limits for Waco area; Testing surge aimed at limiting spread


Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are forcing businesses in the area to roll occupancy limits from 75% of capacity back to 50% under a state order, and federal health officials are joining local groups to provide an influx of 40,000 free tests in McLennan County.

State data show a stretch of eight days when more than 15% of people hospitalized have had COVID-19 in Trauma Service Area M, which includes McLennan, Bosque, Falls, Hill and Limestone counties. Local officials have said their data does not alight with the state’s, but they are urging businesses to comply with the 50% capacity limit while they figure out the discrepancy. They have not suggested a possible explanation for the discrepancy.

“The state could be exactly right, but we don’t know how they calculated it,” McLennan County Judge Scott Felton said of the hospitalization figure Wednesday during a weekly press conference on the novel coronavirus.

When Gov. Greg Abbott issued orders Sept. 17 allowing businesses to go from 50% to 75% of capacity, they came with the caveat that the limits would go back to 50% in any area seeing too many COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Read more: https://wacotrib.com/news/local/covid-19-hospitalizations-trigger-business-limits-for-waco-area-testing-surge-aimed-at-limiting-spread/article_bd1498c4-0372-11eb-9772-83b8088367ff.html