‘JUST PRAY AND WAIT’: Patton Village cop seriously ill; 2 test positive in Brazoria
Health officials tied at least two new coronavirus cases to more RodeoHouston attendees on Saturday, as the Patton Village police officer who became the first-known case of community spread locally after attending the cookoff remained in critical condition.
Houston officials stood by their decision to allow the rodeo to hold events for 14 days before shuttering it Wednesday, even as they say more yet-to-be detected cases may have spread there. Mayor Sylvester Turner said he heeded the advice of medical experts in making the call. They did so when the city had a con
firmed case of community spread, where a resident caught the virus locally, as opposed to while traveling.
That confirmation came Wednesday, when a Montgomery County man who had attended the barbecue cookoff tested positive. Within hours, the city announced the rodeo would close.
“We moved quickly based upon the facts and the medical advice and the science that was presented to us,” Turner said.
Medical experts described that course of action as prudent. Harris County Public Health Executive Director Dr. Umair Shah described the initial rodeo case as a milestone for the new coronavirus in Houston.
“With that Montgomery case, there was no link to a confirmed case and no link to travel,” Shah said. “Now our concern was ‘is this the beginning of community spread?’ That’s when the emergency declaration started.”
The Houston area had 27 confirmed cases of coronavirus on Saturday, including a new case in Houston involving a man in his 50s who had traveled internationally and a woman in Montgomery County. A shortage of tests means this figure could represent only a fraction of people who are ill with the virus here.
The man in his 40s who became the first rodeo-related case, a Patton Village police officer, remained in critical condition Saturday evening.
For several days, that officer has been unconscious in the hospital, Patton Village Police Chief Shannon Sharp said, while the public has pointed fingers and pressed for more information on where he was before he was sick, including his exact contacts during the rodeo cookoff that he attended Feb. 28.
“We’re all scared for him,” Sharp said by phone Saturday. “We’re praying for the best.”
Pressure has increased around trying to figure out what tent the officer visited at the rodeo — but Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Thursday that she did not know.
He’s not alone in facing the stigma, as concerned people across the area have tried to figure out who is sick and where they’ve been, with government agencies releasing little information and urging general caution.
Many with mild symptoms recover. Even though he is young and was in good health previously, the officer’s situation worsened. In their last communication, Sharp said, the officer told him he was nervous — as anyone would be.
“Literally all any of us can do,” Sharp said, “is just pray and wait.”
Brazoria County reported its first two cases Saturday, both of which health officials believe were contracted at the rodeo.
Both patients, between the ages of 35 and 45, attended the barbecue cookoff and other events, said Sharon Trower, spokeswoman for Brazoria County Judge L.M. “Matt” Sebesta Jr.
Investigators are working to learn more details about those events and with whom the patients may have come into contact. The pair live together and are now quarantined in an Alvin-area home. They self-reported and were tested at a Harris County emergency room, Trower said.
Harris County officials expect an increase in confirmed cases in coming days as the coronavirus spreads through the community and more tests become available. Turner said that on a conference call, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan explained the issues city officials encountered in responding to the outbreak there. Turner vowed to stay ahead of the virus’s spread here.
Hidalgo said the coming week “is really a turning point” for the region, dependent upon how many residents heed the government’s warnings to avoid crowds and unnecessary gatherings of any kind.
“It can put us in a very bad or very good position,” Hidalgo said. “That all depends on the community.”
Drive-thru testing will be available sometime this week, though it’s not yet clear how many such facilities will open.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will also bring one or two mobile testing centers to the region, Turner told the Chronicle. That follows President Donald Trump’s declaration Friday of a national emergency.
“People can take some added comfort that now our federal partners are on board,” Turner said. “We will get through this.”
“People can take some added comfort that now our federal partners are on board. We will get through this.” Mayor Sylvester Turner