HOUSTON – Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner urged residents Wednesday to cancel holiday gatherings as hospitalizations and COVID-19 cases continue to increase in the Houston area.
Hidalgo said the county has faced a number of challenges over the past year during the coronavirus pandemic. She said ICU numbers have not stopped creeping up and the Texas Medical Center is routinely crossing its base compacity.
Recommended Videos
“The current situation where our Medical Center, the largest in the world, is routinely crossing its base capacity, means that procedures are postponed, that health care workers are at risk of burnout, that we can’t sustain a surge in infections, beyond where we are right now, and that we’re living at the very, very edge,” Hidalgo said.
The judge urged residents to stay home and put plans on hold as Christmas and the end of the year approaches.
“Mayor Turner and I wanted to join forces today to convey the seriousness of how important it is for everybody to cancel gatherings. This year, show your love for others, by not visiting wait until it’s safe until we’ve completely turned the corner and that will be when enough people are vaccinated,” she said.
Hidalgo said she and Turner have both discussed the possibility of implementing a curfew but said it would be the last resort.
“The mayor and I have discussed potentially imposing a curfew,” she said. “To be clear, we’re choosing not to do that right now because it’s a last-resort tool to use when disaster seems unavoidable. Right now, we can turn things around. That being said, we are not ruling out a curfew in the future.”
Turner emphasized the importance of Hidalgo’s message, saying the city’s positivity rate has climbed to 12.3%.
“Let me just say, I agree with Judge Hidalgo 100%,” Turner said. “We both have been talking about where we are right now in Houston and Harris County. We both have been looking at these numbers intensely over the last six weeks. The positivity rate is increasing.”
As of Wednesday, the Houston Health Department reports 634 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths.
Turner also asked for people to get tested but said testing sites will be closed on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day but will reopen on Saturday.
Bar employee assaulted over mask
Turner also addressed a recent incident where a man is accused of assaulting a local bartender when he was asked to wear a mask. The mayor has been promoting the wearing of masks since the summer and said the incident is disturbing and will not be tolerated in the city of Houston.
“Let me just say that is unacceptable,” Turner said. “OK? That type of behavior is unacceptable.”
He said he’s spoken with Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo about the incident. He said law enforcement officials are looking for the suspect aggressively and hope to bring charges against him.
“We want to find this individual,” Turner said. “We want to find him and arrest him and bring charges against him. Quite frankly, I view it as almost like attempted murder myself, but this type of foolishness is not going to, it’s not going to be accepted. This lawlessness of this kind is not going to occur.”
The mayor said those who do not want to comply with the mask order when going to a business establishment should stay home.
Christmas Eve Super Feast
Turner said the city will host an event Thursday to pass out about 40,000 masks and provide 20,000 ready-to-eat meals. He said those who would like to participate in the socially-distanced event, need to register on the website.
COVID-19 cases may triple into new year
Dr. David Persse, chief medical officer for Houston, said it is important for residents to avoid gatherings during the holiday season as the spread of the virus may triple in the Houston area.
“It may triple by January, and that’s why it’s extremely important for us to avoid any type of gatherings this holiday season,” Persse said. “I certainly wish we could all be with our families but unfortunately, as we all know, this is just simply not the time. And I hope that you will agree with me just as others have said today. It’s just, it’s just extremely important to our health as well as the health of the people that we love to make this a priority that we limit these gatherings.”