Good news, Southeast Texas!
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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.”
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo speaks during an interview in Houston, Texas, U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019. Houston-area residents should follow stay-at-home guidelines that were discontinued weeks ago to cope with a resurgence in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, Hidalgo said. Photographer: Sharon Steinmannn/Bloomberg via Getty Images