CDC Recommending No Events, Gatherings Of 50 Or More People For 8 Weeks
(CBSDFW.COM) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending that any events or mass gatherings of 50 or more people should be canceled or postponed for the next eight weeks in the U.S.
The announcement came Sunday evening as the CDC put up an alert on its website as a way to prevent the potential spread of coronavirus as the number of infected patients continues to grow across the U.S.
"Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities," the CDC said.
Examples that the CDC gave include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings and more.
The CDC said these types of events should only go on if they can abide by guidelines set up by the agency of protecting vulnerable people, hygiene and social distancing
The CDC said this recommendation does not apply to day-to-day operations at schools and businesses.
"This recommendation is made in an attempt to reduce introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus. This recommendation is not intended to supersede the advice of local public health officials," the CDC said.
In North Texas, the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to grow: one in Denton County, four in Tarrant County, eight in Collin County and 14 in Dallas County.
Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties have already issued state of local disaster declaration in order to contain and mitigate the potential spread. Events or gatherings of 250 or more people are strongly discouraged in those counties.
Dallas County went as far as prohibiting events of 500 or more after there was evidence of community spread in one patient.
For more on our coverage of coronavirus in North Texas, click here.