Houston Chronicle

CORONAVIRU­S

Top Democrats push Republican­s to return to relief talks.

- By Zach Despart STAFF WRITER

The worsening COVID-19 pandemic in Texas, which this week became the first state to exceed 1 million cases, demands a more aggressive response that may include more restrictio­ns, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Thursday.

Hidalgo used her annual State of the County address to criticize what she views as a half-hearted state and federal response that has led to unnecessar­y deaths and a laggard economy stuck in a cycle of halted reopenings.

She called for the adoption of science-based shutdown thresholds, similar to the county’s threat level system, and lamented that Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year stripped local officials of the ability to issue enforceabl­e COVID-19 restrictio­ns on travel and commerce. The recent, sustained increases in cases and hospitaliz­ations will lead to new shutdowns, she predicted.

“Inevitably, another pullback is necessary,” Hidalgo said. “We see the numbers in El Paso. Our hospitals were almost overwhelme­d in June and July, and now our numbers are again ticking up. We have to get this under control.”

Houston region hospitals reported 1,079 admitted COVID patients on Thursday, the highest figure since Sept. 7, according to the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council. Hospitaliz­ations peaked in mid-July just below 4,000 and had been steadily declining until October.

The percent of ICU patients who are COVID-positive again has grown beyond 15 percent, the warning threshold used by health officials.

Harris County has been at its highest threat level since mid

June, which urges residents to stay home when possible and avoid unnecessar­y contact with others. Though some have criticized Hidalgo for sticking to the recommenda­tion, even as most people have resumed some form of normal life, Hidalgo said the county never met all the criteria for downgradin­g to Level 2. Those include a test positivity rate of 5 percent and a daily new case average of 400.

Hidalgo did not mention the governor by name, but her message to his administra­tion was clear: adopt a set of metrics, stick to them and let science rather than politics guide Texas through a potentiall­y grim winter before a vaccine is ready next year.

A spokeswoma­n for the governor did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Abbott told a Dallas-Fort Worth television station on Wednesday that businesses will be able to remain open so long as Texans “return to those safe practices” that helped the state defeat the summer surge in cases.

Hidalgo, a Democrat, touted a close relationsh­ip with the Republican governor during the early months of the pandemic, convinced Abbott would make necessary though difficult decisions based on the data. After he resisted her calls in June to issue a new shutdown order, or let her do so, Hidalgo told the county’s 4.7million residents to stay home anyway.

She has been more vocal in airing her pandemic policy disagreeme­nts with Abbott since.

The annual State of the County event typically is held in a downtown hotel ballroom, preceded by a luncheon with elected officials, political donors and civic leaders. The pandemic rendered that format impossible.

Instead, Hidalgo held a “fireside chat” with H-E-B President Scott McClelland at the Greater Houston Partnershi­p offices. The pair wore masks and sat 6 feet from one another.

Hidalgo also discussed how Commission­ers Court has tried to help residents through the pandemic, including grant programs for small businesses and renters.

She recalled attending George Floyd’s funeral in Houston in June and noted the criminal justice reforms the county is considerin­g, including a new use-of-force model.

She mentioned other racial justice items, including the court’s recent approval of an affirmativ­e action program for county vendors and $2.5 million to help poor immigrants fight deportatio­ns. Hidalgo reiterated her support for the Ike Dike coastal barrier to protect the region from storms, but noted that since the project could take decades to complete, policymake­rs also should pursue smaller-scale flood mitigation projects.

 ?? Melissa Phillip / Staff photograph­er ?? H-E-B’s Scott McClelland and County Judge Lina Hidalgo give a live-streaming annual State of the County address on Thursday.
Melissa Phillip / Staff photograph­er H-E-B’s Scott McClelland and County Judge Lina Hidalgo give a live-streaming annual State of the County address on Thursday.
 ?? Melissa Phillip / Staff photograph­er ?? The annual State of the County event typically is held in a downtown hotel ballroom, preceded by a luncheon with elected officials, political donors and civic leaders. The pandemic rendered that format impossible this year.
Melissa Phillip / Staff photograph­er The annual State of the County event typically is held in a downtown hotel ballroom, preceded by a luncheon with elected officials, political donors and civic leaders. The pandemic rendered that format impossible this year.

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