HOUSTON – With all the news and information coming in from around the city, county, state, and country, it can be hard to follow all the things you need to know about coronavirus. Here are the top headlines for today:
In Houston and across Texas
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From beaches to businesses. This is how Houston reopened Friday
Friday was the first day of Texas governor’s phase 1 of reopening the state. Local businesses and restaurants listed in phase 1 welcomed their customers back with open doors after being shut for weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Restaurants: KPRC 2 visited more than a dozen restaurants in the Greater Houston area, Friday, and found patron traffic at most of them was well below even the state-mandated 25% capacity.
Malls: Shopping malls across the state were allowed to re-open. The Houston Galleria was one of them, said general manager Kurt Webb. According to Webb, shoppers will notice several changes throughout the mall, an effort to safeguard customers and employees.
Beaches: Galveston beach was busy but not packed on Friday afternoon after the ‘stay at home’ order was lifted and beaches re-opened. Local officials are stressing social distancing at the beach and people at the Seawall told KPRC they were being mindful to keep a safe distance from other beachgoers.
After overnight raid, Club Onyx files for temporary restraining order against city
The owner of Club Onyx, a strip club that tried to reopen as a restaurant in the early hours of Friday morning, has filed a petition for a temporary restraining order against the city of Houston to prevent another shutdown.
The club reopened for just minutes Friday morning before the Houston Police Department and the Fire Marshal’s Office raided the club and shut down the reopening.
The restraining order claims the shut down was a violation “of the First and Fourth Amendment protections against unconstitutional searches and seizures.”
“In all ways, Onyx Houston both qualified as a Reopened Service and complied with the requirements and recommendations of Governor Abbott’s Order,” the club owner wrote in the document filed in court. “Nonetheless, before Onyx Houston has been open even an hour, dozens of Houston Police Department officers and Fire Department officials raided the business.”
‘Not so fast’: Reopening is a slow process that will take teamwork, Hidalgo says
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo held a news conference Friday to announce new COVID-19 community guidelines as Texas begins to reopen.
The stay-home order for the county expired Thursday night and several businesses across the county are opening back up after being closed from months.
Hidalgo said that some people see Friday as a day of celebration, but her message to them is: “Not so fast.”
“Reopening doesn’t mean mission accomplished. It doesn’t mean that the virus goes away,” Hidalgo said. “If the virus spreads like wildfire and the hospitals run out of space ... things are going to have to shut back down again."
Hidalgo said that if we do the reopening step-by-step, there is a chance Harris County can succeed. The judge reiterated the three key components that she said will help Harris County in the reopening process: testing, tracing and treatment.
Testing sites map
Texas has launched an online coronavirus testing location map to help Texans find test collection sites near them, according to a press release from the office of Gov. Greg Abbott.
The map offers detailed information on testing centers, including payment information, hours of operation and pre-screening measures. It also specifies whether a site is public or private, as well as if it is mobile, walk-in or a drive-thru center.
Food packages at NRG
The Houston Independent School District will host a massive food distribution event at NRG Stadium on Saturday.
With the help of the Houston Food Bank, HISD will continue its food distribution not only on Saturday but also next week at 25 campus sites throughout the district. Saturday’s event will be from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Food distribution sites around Houston
The Houston Independent School District announced it will continue its food distribution efforts at multiple sites throughout the district.
HISD Nutrition Services staff will assemble the meals at the Hexser T. Holliday Food Services Support Facility and then deliver them daily to each of the distribution sites.
The district said each location can distribute up to 500 bags or 15,000 pounds of food per day.
Latest number of coronavirus cases in the Houston area
Here is a quick look at the coronavirus cases that have been reported in the Greater Houston area.
Across the United States and world
FDA allows emergency use of drug remdesivir for coronavirus treatment
U.S. regulators on Friday allowed emergency use of an experimental drug that appears to help some coronavirus patients recover faster.
It is the first drug shown to help fight COVID-19, which has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide.
President Donald Trump announced the news at the White House alongside Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, who said the drug would be available for patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
The FDA acted after preliminary results from a government-sponsored study showed that Gilead Sciences’s remdesivir shortened the time to recovery by 31%, or about four days on average, for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
The study of 1,063 patients is the largest and most strict test of the drug and included a comparison group that received just usual care so remdesivir’s effects could be rigorously evaluated.
White House blocking Fauci testimony, panel spokesman says
A spokesman for a key House panel said Friday that the White House has blocked Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying next week at a hearing on the coronavirus outbreak.
House Appropriations Committee spokesman Evan Hollander said the panel sought Fauci — the highly respected director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — as a witness for a subcommittee hearing on the government’s response to the pandemic, but was denied. Hollander said the panel was informed by an administration official that Fauci’s testimony was blocked by the White House.
He wouldn’t identify who informed the committee that Fauci would not appear.
The White House said Fauci is busy dealing with the pandemic and will appear before Congress later.
“While the Trump Administration continues its whole-of-government response to COVID-19, including safely opening up America again and expediting vaccine development, it is counter-productive to have the very individuals involved in those efforts appearing at Congressional hearings," said White House spokesman Judd Deere. "We are committed to working with Congress to offer testimony at the appropriate time.”
Disney will open in phases
Since Disney World is closed indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the question of when and how the vacation hotspot would open again is on the minds of many, from families who were planning a trip, to the 43,000 workers who were furloughed.
Variety reports that a Florida task force has set guidelines for reopening the resort and amusement park empire once coronavirus concern subsides.
Overwhelmed funeral home in Brooklyn
Officials were back at a Brooklyn funeral home Thursday, removing bodies that weren't properly cared for inside the home, a law enforcement official tells CNN.
A day earlier, officials discovered four trucks containing as many as 60 bodies outside the Andrew Cleckley Funeral Home after someone reported fluids dripping from the trucks, according to the law enforcement official.
Silly walks in California
Walking around the neighborhood is one activity many families enjoyed during the stay at home orders. Those walks can be lifesavers for some people, and for one neighborhood in California, perhaps a chance for a little silliness.
Maureen Salmon got the idea from the monte python skit “the ministry of silly walks.”
Neighborhood comes together to bury a stranger
The request, posted on an online neighborhood forum by a Brooklyn funeral director, was simple but heartfelt. A 91-year-old woman had died from the coronavirus. Her family was scattered in other states. Would anyone like to contribute items for her funeral, like flowers?
Useful information
Haley’s Health Inbox: How do I know what antibody testing places are approved?
As of this week, there are 150 antibody tests on the market without having faced government review. The FDA has only approved a handful of companies to do antibody testing. Most of the testing you see in Houston that are run through diagnostic testing centers are approved.
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