red alert
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo raises COVID-19 threat level to red, citing omicron surge
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo raised the county's COVID-19 threat level to red "severe," the highest placement on the scale on Monday, January 10.
She made the announcement at Carolee Booker Elementary School in Spring ISD, where Hidalgo outlined efforts the county is undertaking to provide school districts COVID-19 rapid antigen tests.
Hidalgo's action comes in the midst of rising virus cases in southeast Texas due to the highly-contagious omicron variant, which has put pressure on local hospitals.
Under the county's threat level scale, red "severe" advises a "stay home, work safe" order, which was birthed from the early stages of the pandemic, unless you're vaccinated.
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