Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Now that 37 states are reporting an uptick in COVID-19 positive cases and hospitalizations in South Texas counties have outstripped local resources while an obdurate minority continues to deny the reality that we're awash in the virus, it's time for Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño to act.
And to act decisively.
On Saturday, Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. reported four COVID-19 related deaths and 87 additional cases. A 23-year-old Rancho Viejo man, a 42-year-old Harlingen man, a 68-year-old San Benito man and a 92-year old woman who resided at The Rio at Fox Hollow have died, bringing Cameron County’s death toll to 67.
Among the new cases are a 5-month-old boy from Brownsville and a 7-month-old girl from Harlingen.
The ages of the new cases ranged from the 5-month-old boy to an 87-year-old man. The individuals are from the cities of Brownsville, Combes, Harlingen, La Feria, Los Fresnos, Los Indios, Port Isabel, Primera, San Benito, Santa Rosa and South Padre Island.
Ten of 12 hospitals in Hidalgo, Cameron and Starr counties are now on “diversion status,” which means all their beds are full, although Hidalgo County spokesperson Carlos Sanchez said it’s a “fluid situation so diversions may be lifted at any moment.”
Sanchez said the state has sent medical personnel and supplies to the area to help overwhelmed hospitals, “but personnel remains a concern.”
In the Rio Grande Valley, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has more than tripled over the past two weeks, from 253 people on June 22 to 820 on July 4.
As of last Thursday, 451 people in Hidalgo County were hospitalized with 104 in intensive care units — a 49.8 percent increase in hospitalizations and 285 percent increase in ICU patients from Wednesday.
On Sunday, Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa confirmed 628 health professionals had been deployed to South Texas last week, and announced additional help was on the way.
The deployment came after county judges and hospital administrators asked the state for additional staff to keep up with a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Hospitals in Cameron County received additional staff members: Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen received 56, Valley Baptist Medical Center in Brownsville received 32, Harlingen Medical Center received 22 and Harlingen Regional Medical Center received 28.
In Hidalgo County, Edinburg Regional Medical Center received 55, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg received 354, Rio Grande Regional Hospital received 46, McAllen Heart hospital received eight and Starr County Memorial received 27.
Late last week, Trevino announced over 40 county employees in the county's three facilities and road and bridge barns have tested positive for COVID-19. Virtually every department in the county reported infection, including Cameron County Clerk Sylvia Garza-Perez, Pct. 2 administrative assistant Eliceo Davila, and sheriff' departments deputies and inmates.
Garza-Perez had a harrowing experience fighting off an aggressive virulous strain to the point where she was placed in ICU in a respirator until her lungs could oxygenate her blood on their own and sent home with an oxygen tank to recuperate and make room for the patient overflow at local hospitals.
Treviño's office said the Public Health Department is working closely with elected officials and department head to continue taking the appropriate steps in keeping employees and the public safe. But he still refuses to close the major buildings in Brownsville and across the county where the employees work.
The public is asked to continue to conduct business online at the county's website.
But that is neatly sidestepping the issue. If these employees are getting infected at work, then the all the buildings must be evacuated, all the employees sent home to self-quarantine for 14 days, and while they are out, the buildings must be sanitized from top to bottom.
Upon their return, they must undergo testing for the virus, and if they pass, must be guaranteed a safe, protected workplace with the appropriate PPE (including face masks, disposable gloves) to handle paperwork brought in by customer, and an environment that guarantees the least amount of contact with the public.
The public that enters the buildings must also be tested upon entry, either through the taking of their temperature, and a brief questionnaire to determine whether they have been infected or are asymptomatic carriers.
Sacrificing two weeks of income to protect both the county employees and their families and the public is within the purview of local elected officials and they now know that they can't depend on the edicts of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who sees his house on fire and is now asking that local officials to weight the conditions in their jurisdictions and act, simultaneously pandering to the Trump administration which continues to deny the immensity of this threat.
In the abeyance of adult, serious action by Washington and Austin, the full weight and responsibility to keep his constituency safe and protect it as much as he possibly can, now rests on the shoulders of Treviño who – in unison with the mayors of our cities – needs to take the COVID-19 bull by the horns and aggressively contain it.
Closing and sanitizing county facilities and mandating the 14-day period on county staff to get a handle on the virus and protect employee ad the public's health is not only the healthy thing to do, it is a small investment that needs to be coupled with other measured, serious responses to a danger no one could have imagined just scant months ago.
On Sunday, Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa confirmed 628 health professionals had been deployed to South Texas last week, and announced additional help was on the way.
The deployment came after county judges and hospital administrators asked the state for additional staff to keep up with a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Hospitals in Cameron County received additional staff members: Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen received 56, Valley Baptist Medical Center in Brownsville received 32, Harlingen Medical Center received 22 and Harlingen Regional Medical Center received 28.
In Hidalgo County, Edinburg Regional Medical Center received 55, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg received 354, Rio Grande Regional Hospital received 46, McAllen Heart hospital received eight and Starr County Memorial received 27.
Late last week, Trevino announced over 40 county employees in the county's three facilities and road and bridge barns have tested positive for COVID-19. Virtually every department in the county reported infection, including Cameron County Clerk Sylvia Garza-Perez, Pct. 2 administrative assistant Eliceo Davila, and sheriff' departments deputies and inmates.
Garza-Perez had a harrowing experience fighting off an aggressive virulous strain to the point where she was placed in ICU in a respirator until her lungs could oxygenate her blood on their own and sent home with an oxygen tank to recuperate and make room for the patient overflow at local hospitals.
Treviño's office said the Public Health Department is working closely with elected officials and department head to continue taking the appropriate steps in keeping employees and the public safe. But he still refuses to close the major buildings in Brownsville and across the county where the employees work.
The public is asked to continue to conduct business online at the county's website.
But that is neatly sidestepping the issue. If these employees are getting infected at work, then the all the buildings must be evacuated, all the employees sent home to self-quarantine for 14 days, and while they are out, the buildings must be sanitized from top to bottom.
Upon their return, they must undergo testing for the virus, and if they pass, must be guaranteed a safe, protected workplace with the appropriate PPE (including face masks, disposable gloves) to handle paperwork brought in by customer, and an environment that guarantees the least amount of contact with the public.
The public that enters the buildings must also be tested upon entry, either through the taking of their temperature, and a brief questionnaire to determine whether they have been infected or are asymptomatic carriers.
Sacrificing two weeks of income to protect both the county employees and their families and the public is within the purview of local elected officials and they now know that they can't depend on the edicts of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who sees his house on fire and is now asking that local officials to weight the conditions in their jurisdictions and act, simultaneously pandering to the Trump administration which continues to deny the immensity of this threat.
In the abeyance of adult, serious action by Washington and Austin, the full weight and responsibility to keep his constituency safe and protect it as much as he possibly can, now rests on the shoulders of Treviño who – in unison with the mayors of our cities – needs to take the COVID-19 bull by the horns and aggressively contain it.
Closing and sanitizing county facilities and mandating the 14-day period on county staff to get a handle on the virus and protect employee ad the public's health is not only the healthy thing to do, it is a small investment that needs to be coupled with other measured, serious responses to a danger no one could have imagined just scant months ago.
5 comments:
Why does everyone one to blame Judge Trevino or anyone else for the COVID problems? How can they control all those idiots who think they are invinsable until it hits them or their families? If people would listen to why we should stay home and wear masks and distance socially, maybe we would not be in the condition that we are. Young invincible "not me" idiots are the cause of all this spreading. Now we try to blame Eddie and you can see he is totally frustrated at those who oppose the ways to prevent the spread?
Whats the use if there are 1000's at SPI parting and alL the bars are open there???? BRING IN THE MILITARY AND STOP ALL THESE NONSENSE. CLOSE THE BRIDGE TO SPI ISOLATE THOSE SOB'S
Eddie if the mayor of SPI won't close the island, why don't you close the bridge/causeway, which is county property? Those that live there stay there and those that don't, stay away. Why can't people wait? The beach has been there for years and has no plans of going anywhere, UNLESS, it, too, get the COVID from the idiots that get into it.
Everybody is getting tested so they can say "I cant work due to covid" or "I have to wait two weeks for result so I cant work"
Don't be like the FBI do something Trevino!!!!!
Post a Comment