HOUSTON — Monday afternoon, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner shared the latest COVID-19 updates in the city of Houston.
He reported an additional 884 coronavirus cases, bringing the city's total to 36,985. He also reported an additional seven deaths, bringing the total to 329.
MORE UPDATES:
- 224 municipal employees, excluding police and fire, have tested positive
- 2 public works employees have died
- There could be a delay in city services due to employees testing positive, said Mayor Turner
- There are currently 162 firefighters are in quarantine; 38 have tested positive
- Total of 189 HFD firefighters have contracted the virus; 151 are back at work
- Houston Fire Department Chief Sam Pena said no fire stations have been ordered to close due to lack of employees -- despite reports on social media. In response to that, HPFFA President Marty Lancton said, "The fire chief is parsing words -- engine this, ladder that. The bottom line is, HFD is not fully staffed. Rotating service outages is a better, more accurate way to describe what's happening day to day in the fire department. To claim HFD is fully staffed is simply not true."
- Turner confirmed Vincent "Bubba" Mandola died of heart failure. Turner said he did have COVID-19, but heart failure was the cause of death
- Dr. David Persse, the Houston Health Department's leading health authority, said he is seeing a higher positivity rate, but hospitalizations are down. Persse said his theory is that healthcare workers are doing a better job of caring for patients, possibly making the length of their hospital stays shorter which frees up more beds.
- Turner said the economic impact due to COVID-19 will be felt for the next two to three years
- Mayor Turner said he is asking the federal government to include rental relief for Americans in their new stimulus package.
There were a lot of big announcements made last week in regards to COVID-19 in the state of Texas and Houston.
Texas continued to break its own record for the most COVID-19 deaths reported in a single day.
On Wednesday, the state reported 110 deaths. On Thursday, Texas set a new record with reporting 129 deaths. On Friday, that number went up to 174.
The Texas Department of State Health Services also reported 10,256 new coronavirus cases Friday, making it the fourth-straight day of reporting at least 10,000 new cases.
Also last week, the Texas Education Agency updated its guidelines for the 2020-2021 school year.
Texas school districts now have the option to start the first four weeks of school virtually.
After the first four weeks, districts can continue virtual learning for an additional four weeks, if needed, with a board-approved waiver request to TEA.
The Houston Independent School District has decided to start classes on Sept. 8 with six weeks of virtual learning that will run through Friday, October 16.
Face-to-face instruction for all students will begin on Monday, October 19. But this is subject to change based on COVID-19 conditions across Houston.
Fort Bend Independent School District has opted to begin the school year with virtual learning while other school districts, like Pearland and Katy, are giving parents the decision to choose in-person or virtual learning.