The current surge in COVID-19 cases across north Texas is forcing officials at Dallas City Hall to reevaluate their plans to bring some employees back to the office.
The city has had a policy in place for some departments capping the number of in-person staffers at 75 percent of their normal level as a way to limit the spread of the virus. The policy also limits in-person attendance at some meetings and offers city staffers increased access to COVID testing.
City officials had been optimistic about the possibility of lifting some of those staffing restrictions until the number of new cases started going up dramatically after Christmas.
"It has shifted, and a lot of the shifting has been because of the data," said Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Chief of Staff for the City Manager's Office. "We have continued throughout this process to look at the trends."
It could be another two months before the city considers lifting those policies on in-office work.
"I would say, depending on what happens in the next 30 to 45 days, we might be looking at something towards the March time frame," Tolbert said, "but I don't want to say that that could happen because we want to be able to make those decisions based on the data."
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