Labor Day Weekend Activities In Full Swing Despite Delta Variant Surge
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Labor Day weekend activities are in full swing right now, even with the COVID-19 delta variant continuing to loom large over North Texas and the rest of the country.
Ahead of the holiday, the CDC urged people who are unvaccinated not to travel and all others to take precautions. "You really just can't stop living life," said Chanel Hayes, who was out with her family in downtown Dallas on Sunday evening.
The streets were busy, with families trying to pack in one more fun outing on the last officials weekend of summer. "I used to work here in downtown just a couple blocks from here about a year ago, and I remember it was dead," said James Sharp, who lives in Lewisville. "Like nobody. And now coming back here, there's people everywhere. It's pretty cool."
It's also slightly nerve wracking for some in the middle of the latest COVID surge. "We wear our masks and social distance," said Cassify Gofort, who lives in Denton. "We're all vaccinated." Gofort said those precautions made her feel comfortable keeping weekend plans to celebrate her bachelorette with friends from out-of-town. "My wedding is in 65 days," she said.
She's hopeful things will be even better for her November wedding and for Thanksgiving.
Experts said the current trends for positive cases and hospitalizations depend on our own actions and decisions to gather. "We need to continue to vaccinate and that's what's going to carry us through the fall holidays and the winter potential peaks," said Steve Miff, CEO of Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation.
Because even though summer may be ending, the pandemic is far from over.
"I'm beginning to think that this is going to be the new norm," Hayes said.
