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Posts published in “Day: March 31, 2020”

FIGHTING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: County issues “Stay Home Work Safe” order

March 31, 2020
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner make a joint announcement about the “STAY HOME WORK SAFE” order last Tuesday morning.

Effective thru April 3rd; Virus cases reach 464

HARRIS COUNTY – Faced with the reality of mounting cases of the infectious and potentially lethal Coronavirus known as COVID-19, local leaders have issued an order to “Stay Home Work Safe” which amounts to a shelter in place directive.

At a joint news conference last Tuesday morning, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner called for all but essential members of the public to stay at home, not to travel and not to congregate in groups. Businesses were advised to have their employees work at home. The order is set to last ten days, until Friday April 3rd.

As of last Friday, there were 464 virus cases in the greater Houston area that had tested positive. These include Houston 69 with 1 death, Harris County 135 including 1 death, Brazoria County 39, Brazos County 31, Fort Bend County 86, Galveston County 40, Matagorda County 9 including 1 death, Montgomery County 41, Chambers County 2, Liberty County 2, Grimes County 2, Wharton County 3, and Walker County 2.

Statewide in Texas there are 1,731 cases with 23 deaths. Nationally in the U.S. there are 100,390 cases and 1,543 deaths. Worldwide the cases number 587,958 with 26,909 deaths

The Order allowed the public to travel for necessities such as food and fuel, and allowed workers in 16 essential categories to continue to work. These include: Healthcare, Law Enforcement and Public Safety, Food and Agriculture, Electricity or Utility workers, Petroleum, Natural and Propane gas workers, Water and Wastewater workers, Transportation and logistics, including auto repair and postal service, Public Works, Communications and Media including newspapers, Government and Education, Critical manufacturing, Hazardous materials, Financial services including banks, Chemical workers, and Defense industries.

Congress passes $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package

March 31, 2020

• $1,200 for individuals earning $75,000 annually or less

• $2,400 for a marriage couple earning $150,000 annually or less

• $500 per child

• No need to fill out an application, the government will deposit it into your bank account based on your 2018 or 2019, the latest you have declared

• Only people with a social security number qualify for this stimulus check.

• Checks could be deposited within 3 weeks or could take up to 4 months

3 Covid-19 Virus test sites now open

March 31, 2020

INFORMATION ON CORONAVIRUS TEST SITES:

• United Memorial Med Ctr. private site at 510 w. Tidwell, as seen above is free, and does not require pre-screening.

People tested at the community based testing site are provided instructions on how to obtain their test results. Positive cases will continue to be reported by local health departments.

Harris County and the City of Houston have announced that they have opened three drive-thru testing sites for Coronavirus tests, and plan to open several more in the next week. For all the public sites, pre-screening is required, and then those that qualify due to Coronavirus symptoms, or because they are in a high risk category, will be given an ID number and an appointment at one of the locations, that remain unidentified to the general public.

• City of Houston, at Butler Stadium, call 832-393-4220 for pre-screening. Also free. At both sites, only those with symptoms will be tested.

• Harris County has one site open in East Harris County, in the Baytown area. Prescreening is done at readyharris.com or by calling 832-927-7575.

• Harris County plans to open a second site in the Katy area this week.

Free food distributed at several schools and centers

March 31, 2020

Precinct 2 Northeast Community Center, seen above, and Aldine’s MO Campbell Center were just two of many sites throughout the area that were distributing free food to families in a drive-thru last week. Pct. 2 food came from the Hilton Americas Hotel, and consisted of carrots, potatoes, apples and Brussels sprouts. It was distributed by Second Serving, and deputy constables from local precincts. It only lasted two hours, and then the food was all gone. Anyone with extra food is encouraged to call Pct. 2 for future distribution. The city of Houston is also distributing food at their community centers. Earlier in the week Aldine ISD distributed food parcels at 22 schools throughout the district.