Two days before Texas reported its highest number of daily cases since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Peter Hotez, a Houston-based infectious disease specialist, urged the state to take immediate action when new cases ravaged the city, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country.
On Tuesday, Texas reported a record daily count of new cases of 5,489. Hotez called the figure “horrible” when he spoke to journalists in The Houston Chronicle. Daily data on new cases on Wednesday and Thursday would increase further, reaching 5,551 and 5,996, respectively.
“It is absolutely horrible,” said Hotez. “I am terribly upset by what I see happening. There were some predictive models outside of Pennsylvania that actually showed this. That’s why I didn’t want Texas to open so early. [as] did.”
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CORONAVIRUSES RIGHT NOW
FAUCI WARNS YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IMMUNE TO THE SIDE EFFECTS OF CORONAVIRUS
12 STATES SHOW REGISTRATION POINTS IN CORONAVIRUS CASES
HERE ARE THE 6 WAYS THAT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC COULD END
YOUR KIND OF BLOOD MAY AFFECT IF YOU GET CORONAVIRUSES
Texas was one of the first states to reopen, having seen a relatively low number of cases at the start of the pandemic. As the spread of the community allowed the virus to travel, the state continued to reopen, despite public health officials offering to stricter guidelines in doing so
Now, Governor Greg Abbott (R) has officially halted the reopening efforts until the cases can be further controlled.
For Hotez, social distancing is the best and fastest solution available immediately.
“We have to implement a significant level of social distancing. Now we have no other choice. We have to take action before the weekend, “he said. “At a minimum, we must focus on the metropolitan areas: Houston, San Antonio and Austin. We are already coming to a serious health crisis in Houston, and it will only get worse. ”
Her comments precede Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, moving the county’s pandemic status to the highest threat level, which will ban meetings of more than 100 people. The judge is urging other counties to follow suit.
This is a necessary step, although it will also bring difficulties. The sharp aggressive vertical surge in # COVID19 cases (which could soon double or triple), really left no choice. It was a matter of saving lives. Thank you very much to @LinaHidalgoTX https://t.co/ikTT7B342T
– Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) June 26, 2020
When asked what his message would be to Texans and all Americans regarding the dramatic increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, Hotez says the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has been a failure.
“Nationwide, this is one of the biggest public health failures in the history of the United States. We have a vaccine that we hope to advance this time next year,” he said. “This pandemic is not improving on its own. This is a public health crisis that we share with Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. We need to make an urgent plan to take action before the weekend.”
NEWS ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
COUNTRIES LED BY WOMEN HAVE CULTIVATED BETTER AGAINST CORONAVIRUSES. WHY?
MORE THAN 8.7 MILLION CORONAVIRUS CASES WERE NOT DETECTED IN MARCH
EXPERTS: 90% OF CORONAVIRUS DEATHS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED
FAUCI PREACHES ANOTHER CORONAVIRUS BRUCE IN THE FALL WITH A ‘VERY DIFFERENT’ RESULT
TEXAS REPORTS ONLY ONE DAY HIGH IN CORONAVIRUS DEATHS TWO WEEKS AFTER REOPENING
.
