Beginning today, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) will be providing daily briefings on COVID-19 activities in the State of Texas. The intended audience is : Public Health and Medical Partners, Emergency Management, Schools and Higher Education , Local and Elected Officials.
In the US, as of 3pm today, there are 423 confirmed cases. In Texas, we have 13 confirmed cases. 6 are in Ft Bend County, 6 are in Harris County and 1 is now confirmed in Collin County (North of Dallas.) The 12 cases near us came from people who were on a river cruise in Egypt. The Collin County case was from a person who had been in California.
DSHS advises that the most at risk people are over age 65 and/or have existing medical conditions. Many of our citizens fall into the “over age 65” category. DSHS advice is to protect yourself from contracting the virus by limiting travel and large gatherings where germs can spread easily. Wash your hands frequently, especially after shopping, etc. and avoid people with flu symptoms. Remember, this is a flu and and travels like any other flu virus. You can become infected by people with the virus, coughing near you or touching contaminated surfaces. Sensible precautions will go a long way to keeping COVID-19 from spreading rapidly throughout the country and Texas. On Friday at 3pm, there were 323 confirmed cases and by today at 3pm it had jumped to 423 confirmed cases in the US.
Right now there are only 4 locations in the State of Texas that are approved by the CDC for COVID-19 testing. One is in Houston and is currently limited to 25 tests per day. DSHS along with the CDC is “aggressively working to expand these facilities.” From a scientific testing model, that is not what I would call a good sample size for the greater Houston area (almost 7 million residents!). Therefore, be cautious and sensible. We do not need to panic about COVID-19.
If you begin to feel ill, stay home, rest and then contact a health professional for advice. Please do not jump in the car and drive to your doctor with whole family or go to work!
The CDC has more information on ways to protect yourself and your family.
I will provide updates as I get them from the DSHS in their Daily Briefings.
Mayor, Albert Sykes