Name: Hidalgo urges Harris County, now at max threat level, to stay home
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Hidalgo urges Harris County, now at max threat level, to stay home

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateHarris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Friday moved the county to the worst threat level, calling for a return to the stay-at-home conditions of March and April, as COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to spike.She also banned outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people in unincorporated Harris County, while urging mayors to do the same in their cities.Hidalgo described in dire terms the danger the pandemic currently poses and said the county is at greater risk than at any other time since the outbreak began here in March.“Today we find ourselves careening toward a catastrophic and unsustainable situation,” Hidalgo said. “Our current hospitalization rate is on pace to overwhelm the hospitals in the near future.”Her remarks were a rebuke of Gov. Greg Abbott’s phased reopening strategy, which she said allowed Texans to resume normal life before they were safe. They also contradicted the Texas Medical Center executives painted a day earlier of the system’s ICU capacity.Hidalgo unsuccessfully lobbied the governor this week for the power to issue more restrictions, her office confirmed. Abbott’s refusal to let local officials again issue mandatory stay-at-home orders leaves Harris County “with one hand tied behind our back,” she said.A spokesman for Abbott did not respond to a request for comment.Since May, Abbott has taken control of the state’s reopening. Hidalgo praised the governor for reversing course by in Texas to again close, effective at noon Friday, in his latest effort to contain the spread of coronavirus. The governor also said restaurants will have to return to 50 percent capacity; they had been allowed to operate at 75 percent since June 12.More on CoronavirusIn addition, Abbott permitted local officials to limit outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people, clearing the way for Hidalgo to do so.Though she lacks the power to require compliance, Hidalgo implored all county residents to follow the same rules as her in March and April. That means residents should stay home except for essential errands and appointments, work from home if possible, wear a mask in public and otherwise avoid contact with other people.Only a collective change in behavior can reverse the accelerating trend of COVID here, Hidalgo said. The alternative, she warned, is grim.“If we don’t act now, we’ll be in a crisis,” she said. “If we don’t stay home now, we’ll have to stay home when there are images of hospital beds in hallways.”Hidalgo and Dr. Umair Shah, the county’s health director, offered no concrete timeline for how long restrictions would be needed. The county judge noted that in some other states, lockdowns of up to three months were needed to bring the virus under control.Dr. Peter Hotez, an immunologist at the Baylor College of Medicine who has warned Houston could become the next national epicenter for coronavirus, said Hidalgo’s announcement was a necessary step.A tripling of cases and hospitalizations since Memorial Day has placed intense pressure on state and local leaders to act. With Abbott’s blessing, Hidalgo and other local leaders have issued mask orders since last week, mandating businesses to require their customers wear facial coverings.The governor effectively gutted Hidalgo’s requiring residents to wear masks at the end of April by preventing any punishments from being levied against violators. Enforcement never was the point, Hidalgo said Friday, but she blamed the governor for signaling to residents that mask-wearing was unimportant.Public officials face an enormous challenge in convincing residents to again follow safety guidelines especially after reopening public life, former county judge Robert Eckels said. He said residents are more likely to listen since Hidalgo and Abbott are both telling residents to stay home and wear masks.“To the extent that there’s consistency in the message, and it is a courtesy to other people, you’ll see folks wearing masks,” Eckels said. “If people believe it’s about protecting themselves, and they don’t care, then they won’t behave.”At a news conference later in the day, Turner and other city officials painted a similarly grim picture about the numbers heading quickly in the wrong direction. The mayor said the eyes of the nation are watching how it responds.“We have become the focal point of people all over this country about … this virus and how it’s spreading,” Turner said. “This is our opportunity as a city to pull together like never before. And so we are asking all Houstonians to do your part, collectively, to wear this mask so that we can slow the progression of this virus.”The mayor, however, noticeably did not echo Hidalgo’s message encouraging residents to stay home, as they were ordered to do in late March and April. Instead, he emphasized the importance of wearing masks, social distancing and hand-washing, while commending the governor’s order to shut down bars and tighten occupancy limits on restaurants.Asked about Hidalgo’s urging people to stay home, Turner said, “Well, No. 1, we don’t have the authority to put forth a stay-home order.”The county judge unveiled a four-stage threat level system to help residents more easily understand the severity of the pandemic here. Hidalgo initially placed the county at Level 2, the second most serious, which is defined by an ongoing transmission of the virus. She warned then that an increase in new cases could place the county at “the precipice of disaster.”Since last week, the county has met four of the five criteria to move to Level 1, described as a worsening outbreak causing a surge in demand at health care facilities. These benchmarks include seven-day increasing trends in new cases and hospitalizations.The Texas Medical Center on Thursday reported 100 percent of its base ICU capacity was full for the first time during the pandemic, driven by a jump in COVID patients. The hospital may exhaust surge beds — temporary space for use in emergencies — by July 6, according to modeling by the hospital system.Harris County has a temporary field hospital outside NRG Stadium that can be activated in several days, a spokesman for Hidalgo said. The county erected a $17 million facility but closed the site when it went unused.The Houston region has set COVID hospitalization records 12 of the days, with a total of 2,416 patients Thursday. There have been 504 deaths in the region from the virus and more than 37,000 residents infected, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis.zach.despart@chron.comdylan.mcguinness@chron.com

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateHarris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Friday moved the county to the worst threat level, calling for a return to the stay-at-home conditions of March and April, as COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to spike.She also banned outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people in unincorporated Harris County, while urging mayors to do the same in their cities.Hidalgo described in dire terms the danger the pandemic currently poses and said the county is at greater risk than at any other time since the outbreak began here in March.“Today we find...

Hidalgo urges Harris County, now at max threat level, to stay home

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