Don’t throw your masks away just yet. Much of the nation began to relax from the strict pandemic protocols of 2020 over the summer, but now we’re learning that there has been a rapid increase of new Covid-19 cases stemming from the new Delta Variant.
The CDC says “As of July 22, 35% of U.S. counties are experiencing high levels of community transmission. COVID-19 cases are on the rise in nearly 90% of U.S. jurisdiction.” The surge is more severe in states where vaccination levels are lower. Nationally, 97% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated, as of July 22. Hospitals in some hard-hit states are being overwhelmed.
Julie Ferguson has stated in her article “What you need to know about the Delta Variant” that “each new variant of Covid-19 becomes progressively more contagious. The Delta Variant is about 50% more transmissible than the strains we saw in the US last spring, and those strains were about 50% more contagious than the first strains we originally experienced here in the US. And unlike earlier variants, children are coming down with Covid-19 and some cases are serious and require hospitalization”.
According to the CDC’s Covid Data Tracker, all but one county in our home state of Florida are in the red with high levels of community transmission of Covid-19. To keep our employees safe, FastTrack Staffing has decided to resume all safety precautions previously in place. All staff and applicants will adhere to 6ft social distancing guidelines while in our offices, and face coverings are to be worn at all times, even those who are vaccinated. We will not be allowing anyone other than pre-scheduled applicants into the offices at this time and interviews and testing will be completed over the phone or remotely when possible. We will continue to clean and sanitize all offices after each scheduled applicant as we have done before, ensuring your safety should an office visit be necessary. We hope that you will understand the need for such measures and work with us as we all strive to stay healthy.
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view