» Area officials ramp up efforts to ensure more social distancing.
On a day that saw two new coronavirus cases in the Houston region, public officials ramped up efforts to ensure social distancing and pushed for more people to stay home, even as churchgoers in Houston attended services and tourists in Galveston flocked to city attractions.
The pressure to stay home or practice social distancing mounted locally. Starting Monday, Houston ISD will add curbside pickup to its 36 food distribution sites.
Mayor Sylvester Turner recommended that anyone returning from international travel should quarantine for at least two weeks. Harris
County Judge Lina Hidalgo asked people on Twitter to avoid gatherings of any size, “even if you’re young and healthy.”
“Our work to #flattenthecurve hinges on everyone’s help to slow the spread to vulnerable groups,” she said. “Even if you don’t feel sick, you could be a carrier. Social distancing works.”
As of late Sunday, there were at least 73 positive COVID-19 cases in Texas, including 29 in the Houston region, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis.
The most recent Houston-area cases involve a man and a woman in northwest Harris County. Health officials confirmed that the woman was in contact with a COVID-19 patient who lives in her area, officials said. Epidemiologists are still investigating the details of the man’s case. Both cases are unrelated.
Also on Sunday, University of Houston baseball officials said the team has been self-quarantined after a staffer came down with symptoms consistent with the novel coronavirus. The person has not been confirmed as a positive case.
Children’s Museum Houston and Fort Bend Children’s Discovery Center announced closures. Children’s Museum Houston executive director Tammie Kahn said the museum had previously planned to close Tuesday, but moved up its schedule after learning that scientists increasingly believe that children can be novel coronavirus carriers without showing symptoms.
With the uptick in cases, some public figures in the Houston-area stepped up to ease the financial and social burden caused by the virus.
Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. tweeted Sunday that he is donating 10,000 meals to the Houston Food Bank. Sports stars and newlyweds J.J. Watt and Kealia Ohai Watt donated $350,000 to the food bank.
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is collecting nonperishable food and unopened toiletries to hand out to seniors who have been advised not to leave their homes.
Turner and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, joined the furniture mogul Sunday afternoon to announce the donation program. Items can be dropped off at any Gallery Furniture store from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“We’ve got to fill in where the federal government’s money has not yet reached,” said Jackson Lee, who on Saturday voted to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Travelers returning to Houston should not expect long lines that have crammed beleaguered passengers together for health screenings at 13 airports nationwide, such as Dallas/ Fort Worth International Airport.
Houston Airport System spokesman Foti Kallergis said that all European flights to Houston have already been canceled or diverted. George Bush Intercontinental Airport was not among the 13 airports the Centers for Disease Control tapped to receive incoming European flights, he said.
Wait times at IAH security checkpoints appeared to be under 10 minutes Sunday afternoon, while international processing could range anywhere from seven to 35 minutes, according to online trackers.
State health officials are expected to soon receive a federal stash of medical supplies to keep local hospitals equipped with protective items, such as surgical masks and gloves.
The Strategic National Stockpile began sending a shipment of equipment to an undisclosed warehouse in San Antonio on Saturday. From there, those items will be distributed to hospital facilities across the state.