Houston’s COVID-19 incident levels off after a sudden surge in late JuneExBulletin

Mayor Sylvester Turner of the City of Houston will speak on Sunday, June 28, at the Mexican Consulate in Houston at a free COVID-19 test offered by the United Memorial Medical Center.

David J. Philip / AP

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David J. Philip / AP

Mayor Sylvester Turner of the City of Houston will speak on Sunday, June 28, at the Mexican Consulate in Houston at a free COVID-19 test offered by the United Memorial Medical Center.

David J. Philip / AP

Daily case numbers and hospitalization rates in Houston appear to have leveled off after a sudden surge of reported COVID-19 cases that began at the end of June. Health officials say they’re not ready to determine if the data are statistically significant, but that’s a positive trend. Last Friday, experts were ringing the alarm.

“I want to put a perspective for people who don’t know what the problem is. In your experience you may not know the sick person or you may not yet know the dead person. No…” says the doctor. David Parse, the health authority of the Houston Department of Health.

The Houston hospital is not overwhelmed, but it has moved to what the Texas Medical Center calls the Secondary ICU Surge Plan. Overall, center hospitals use less than 5% of these surge ICUs. However, two county-owned and operated hospitals in Houston say COVID-19 patients account for more than half of the ICU beds.

“This number has increased over the last couple of weeks. We were fortunate to have a lot of coordination with the Texas Medical Center to try to transfer patients,” said Mike Hill Chief Operating Officer. .. Harris Health System..

Still, the system is under stress. The medical personnel themselves became ill with COVID-19, causing a shortage of personnel. This means that some nurses who do not have infectious disease expertise are still caring for COVID-19 patients.

Crude oil prices have recovered slightly, but the sharp fall before that has caused layoffs in thousands of key industries in the city. According to the Greater Houston Restaurant Association, a home-order in the county in April culled local restaurants and 10% were completely closed.

“It was to some extent helpful if we were able to move or go to the curbside,” says Melissa Stewart, chairman of the Greater Houston Restaurant Association. “But if you can’t do that, and suddenly you have to close it for another two weeks, then all the products will be perishable. That’s not all of them lasting for two weeks. It’s a tremendous amount of money anyway.”

Report An official at the University of Houston said the city would be in a “moderate recession” in the first quarter of next year if the virus were “outbreaks” this year. That could mean a loss of over 70,000 jobs.

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas said another closure would not occur. The Republican chief executive deprived Houston’s leaders of their power and issued another “go home, workplace security” order.

This puts hospitality workers in a difficult situation. COVID-19 infections are clearly active in the community, with positive rates staying around 24-25% in urban test stations.

“As of August 1st, you will no longer be able to get health insurance. What if you get sick?” calm waitress Cynthia Pratt says.

Especially in the Latino community in Houston, it is a common issue for employees to decide whether to make a health or a salary. It accounts for about 40% of the COVID-19 cases reported here.

“There are many people with anxiety and depression, and there is an increase in substances, alcohol, and domestic violence,” says Rev. Ed Gomez of San Pablo Anglican Church.

I have two concerns. First, he says most of the Gomez community cannot work from home. Second, the suspension of evictions will remove some of the city officials’ eviction endings’ settings this Saturday.

“I had to write to a property manager who promised to pay the rent for July, and they wouldn’t evict that person, the elderly,” Gomez says ..

The pandemic direction here shows some hope. On Monday, the Houston Department of Health said the hospital’s performance in treating COVID-19 patients was improving, resulting in shorter hospital stays compared to the beginning of the pandemic.

However, healthcare professionals warn that hospitals can still be overwhelmed if they do not follow strict recommendations for people’s social distances and don’t wear masks.

“I can’t say for sure….it often depends on what’s happening in the community, and whether it’s personal or collective, all the actions we take. That determines our destination as a community,” says Umair Shah, director of Harris County Public Health.