Houston leaders are calling for another two-week shutdown as dozens of Army members will arrive Monday to help combat a virus that continues to set records for hospitalizations and deaths at the Texas Medical Center.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said it is time for the city of Houston to “roll back” as regional cases rose to 63,864 on Sunday, 1,596 more than the day before. There have been 646 deaths in the Houston area. Positive results are returning for approximately 16 percent of Texas test takers.
“Let’s look at the numbers, let’s look at the data, let’s see where things are,” Turner said over the weekend. “And then gradually it moves forward again.”
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo pleaded for an immediate order to stay home.
“We have to keep this up this time until the hospitalization curve goes down, it doesn’t just flatten,” he tweeted Sunday. “Many communities that persevered in that way are reopening in the long term. Let’s learn from that and don’t make the same mistake twice. “
The increase in cases has put pressure on health care systems. While the decision to close Houston and Harris County is currently out of reach for local officials, state and federal officials have agreed to send more resources to the region. Defense Department medical personnel will be dispatched to Houston on Monday, according to Governor Greg Abbott’s office.
The United States Northern Command is sending 580 medical personnel to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Texas, said Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for the United States Army. The Navy has also dispatched response teams.
Eight-five of those staff, including army nurses, doctors and pharmacists, will be sent to an as-yet-identified hospital center in the Houston area, said Lori Upton, vice president of disaster preparedness for the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council and reply. The hope is to open 20 to 50 beds for COVID-19 patients, she said.
“It will not solve the problem, but it will begin to alleviate some of the crisis,” Upton said.
Health officials are slated to choose a location Monday to send additional workers and open those beds Tuesday, he continued.
The increase in Army staffing would add to the 200 nurses that SETRAC, a coalition of healthcare providers, has placed in 25 counties.
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As of Sunday, there were 10,410 hospitalized patients for laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, an increase of more than 300 from a record Saturday, and about 11,700 beds available. About 970 were available for the most critical cases in all of Texas.
Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, joining representatives of the Rio Grande Valley state Congress, have called on the federal government to create emerging emergency hospitals to cope with rising rates of COVID-19 in Texas.
Last week, federal medical personnel were deployed in Bexar County, and more disaster assessment teams are operating in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, McAllen, Laredo, and El Paso.
While Hidalgo issued an order to stay home in March, Abbott has made decisions about whether to open or close businesses and has refused to allow local officials to make decisions about it. Hidalgo’s office unsuccessfully petitioned the governor for the power to issue more restrictions as COVID-19 hospitalizations increased.
But on Friday afternoon, Abbott also said he could consider expanding which nonessential businesses would close if the pandemic continued to worsen.
“If we don’t stop the spread of COVID-19 … the next step would have to be a blockade,” the governor told KLBK-TV in Lubbock.
Bars are among the restricted companies to prevent people from gathering and spreading the virus.
In Pasadena, two-step patrons gathered Sunday afternoon at Chuters Dance Hall and Saloon to protest the governor’s decision last month to abruptly close the watering holes. Unmasked customers filled the dance floor while a country music band played.
“I think everyone has the right to work for a living and I think they have the right to be open like any other business,” said patron Kristina Reff of La Porte. “This place has been a safe haven for my mother.”
The decision to close bars and reduce restaurant occupancy followed June’s sharp increase in positive cases.
Meanwhile, federal support for test sites in Texas will continue through July 31, according to the governor’s office. The number of cases statewide increased from 255,763 to 262,753 on Sunday. An additional 57 people reportedly died, bringing the state total to 3,213.
Turner also said he was concerned about having the virus under “an appearance of control in time to send children, teachers and staff back to school in August,” said city spokeswoman Mary Benton.
“To be clear, the mayor would prefer that the economy remain open, but the virus is spreading out of control in our community and hospitalizations are increasing,” he said in an email. “We must come together as a community to stop the spread now.”
