Texas Coronavirus Updates

[austingirl]

Medina isn't closing schools but Bandera is for a week. No cases in the area. I went to San Antonio was a funeral yesterday and went out to dinner. Restaurants busy as ever. Driving home on I10, all the restaurant parking lots were full.


The panic is so stupid.

[austingirl]

Medina isn't closing schools but Bandera is for a week. No cases in the area. I went to San Antonio was a funeral yesterday and went out to dinner. Restaurants busy as ever. Driving home on I10, all the restaurant parking lots were full.


Update: what a difference another day of insanity makes. Medina is closing schools for a week and they also closed the library. Working parents don't know who will care for their kids and so the snowball effect of lost productivity begins.

The panic is so stupid.

[Texas Yellow Rose]

2 new cases reported in Alvin - Brazoria County.  Both attended the Rodeo/Live Stock Show

[Elderberry]

Two presumptive positive coronavirus cases confirmed in Brazoria County

KHOU11 by  Ciara Rouege 3/14/2020

https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/two-presumptive-positive-coronavirus-cases-confirmed-in-brazoria-county/285-94802b59-dc67-4da4-a1c7-1b1fd42e1aef

BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas — The Brazoria County Health Department has reported two confirmed presumptive positive cases of novel coronavirus in the Alvin area.

Both individuals live in the same home. No other description of the individuals was released.

Officials said they were tested at a Harris County health facility, after which both tests returned with presumptive positive results. The individuals then notified the Brazoria County Health Department and the city of Alvin.

LIST: Local coronavirus cases in Brazoria, Galveston, Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties

Brazoria County officials said these individuals have not traveled outside the Houston area, but they did attend the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Cook-Off and events.

The Brazoria County Health Department is conducting an epidemiological investigation and is working to identify any contacts they may have had.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

Patient experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 lands at ABIA

https://www.kxan.com/news/coronavirus/patient-with-symptoms-consistent-with-covid-19-lands-at-abia/

KXAN by Chelsea Moreno 3/14/2020

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A patient showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 landed on a plane at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Saturday, a city spokesperson confirmed to KXAN.

It was a British Airways flight, and the spokesman could not confirm where the flight was coming from. An ABIA spokeswoman confirmed the British Airways flight landed in Austin from London Heathrow.

At last check, all the passengers were off the plane, including the patient, who was treated by Austin-Travis County EMS medics. A test for the virus was administered to the patient and the person will be quarantined.

The spokesperson wrote the following in an email to KXAN:

Per the AUS Communicable Disease Plan, passengers on an incoming flight with a possible patient are briefed by medical officials before exiting the aircraft. Health officials screen the possible patient away from the terminal. From there, AUS supports our local, state and federal partners on proper protocols. These could include additional screening of or communication with passengers.

An airport spokesperson said British Airways representatives were going to have the plane disinfected and it was expected to leave ABIA at 10:45 p.m.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

Latest count puts Texas coronavirus cases at 63. Here's where they are.

The Texas Tribune by Carla Astudillo, Mandi Cai, Darla Cameron, Chris Essig and Anna Novak March 14, 2020

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/03/14/texas-counties-coronavirus-case-updates-and-what-we-know/

There are cases in each of the state’s five largest urban areas, though the virus has now also appeared in counties spanning from East Texas to the Gulf Coast. Officials expect statewide testing capacity to increase soon.

As of Saturday, there were 63 known coronavirus cases in Texas

The Texas Tribune is tracking the total number of positively identified COVID-19 cases in Texas by county. This data will be updated daily when the Texas Department of State Health Services releases the latest numbers, which may lag behind local news reports. The number of known cases is also potentially limited by the availability of tests. Community spread occurs when the source of infection is unknown.

County   Community spread   Number of cases Bell                                              1 Bexar                                           1 Brazoria                   yes                2 Collin                                           5 Dallas                   yes                  8 El Paso                                        1 Fort Bend                                    9 Galveston                                   1 Gregg                                        1 Harris                                      10 Hays                                         1 Lackland Air Force Base *            12 Lavaca                                      1 Montgomery               yes           3 Smith                                       3 Tarrant                                      3 Travis                                      1 Statewide                                 63

[DB]

It is out in the wild. It is going to have to run its course. Just hopefully not all at once overloading everything.

[LadyLiberty]

Governor Abbot said during his press conference two days ago that all of the cases at Lackland have recovered and they have all returned home.

[Idiot]

I made my weekly stop at Walmart to pick up my dear old 90 yr old mom's groceries at their pick up area.  It was packed with cars waiting for their groceries.  The guy loading my truck said Walmart was considering closing his area of the store, since they were out of so many items...such as...milk, almost all can goods, meat, then of course paper goods.  I hope deliveries come soon or this is going to get serious FAST.

[Elderberry]

After the majority of the panic buyers have filled their larders then things will return to normal at the stores.

[Night Hides Not]

3/21 Wicked Wine Run in Burleson cancelled.

wickedwinerun.com/locations/texas-dallas/

[corbe]

   HEB is offering FREE Next Day Curbside Service, the problem is their booked up for a week.

Hank Williams, Jr. - "A Country Boy Can Survive" (Official Music Video)


Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

[PeteS in CA]

3/21 Wicked Wine Run in Burleson cancelled.

wickedwinerun.com/locations/texas-dallas/

This is happening all over the US. Here in the SF Bay Area, pretty much all running events have been cancelled and changed to "virtual" or "remote". In a "virtual" or "remote" run, people register, which gets them their bib and finisher's medal, and then do the distance at the place and time of their choosing. My daughter and I did a "virtual" 10K Saturday for a race for which we had registered before it was cancelled. We'll be getting our "swag" in the mail sometime this week. During my time on the trail I noticed people doing remotes for at least two cancelled events. Park trails are good substitute courses for street/road events since runners/walkers don't have to worry about cars and stoplights.

[Idiot]

This is happening all over the US. Here in the SF Bay Area, pretty much all running events have been cancelled and changed to "virtual" or "remote". In a "virtual" or "remote" run, people register, which gets them their bib and finisher's medal, and then do the distance at the place and time of their choosing. My daughter and I did a "virtual" 10K Saturday for a race for which we had registered before it was cancelled. We'll be getting our "swag" in the mail sometime this week. During my time on the trail I noticed people doing remotes for at least two cancelled events. Park trails are good substitute courses for street/road events since runners/walkers don't have to worry about cars and stoplights.

A virtual race....never heard of such a thing.  Wish I would have had a virtual colonoscopy....lololol.

[Ghost Bear]

I stopped by our local Walmart this morning to pick up some prescriptions for the wife, and checked some of the grocery aisles for some things that have been out since the panic buying started (Wet Ones, Soft Soap, etc.) and found that they have not restocked their shelves. Which kind of surprised me, since I thought that the point of limiting their hours was so that they could restock. They were completely out of toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissues (the entire shelf row empty on both sides...) in addition to the Wet Ones and Soft Soap being gone.  Also the soup and ramen aisle was nearly empty (but lots of canned veggies left). The bread aisle also didn't have much bread, although there were lots of tortillas left. Frozen food was sparse also.

Again, what surprised me most wasn't that they had empty shelves, it was that they had empty shelves at 10:30am Monday morning. I was expecting them to have restocked at least a little overnight. There were people in the store, but not so many that they would have completely emptied some of the shelves... unless there wasn't much on them to begin with.

[DB]

I stopped by our local Walmart this morning to pick up some prescriptions for the wife, and checked some of the grocery aisles for some things that have been out since the panic buying started (Wet Ones, Soft Soap, etc.) and found that they have not restocked their shelves. Which kind of surprised me, since I thought that the point of limiting their hours was so that they could restock. They were completely out of toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissues (the entire shelf row empty on both sides...) in addition to the Wet Ones and Soft Soap being gone.  Also the soup and ramen aisle was nearly empty (but lots of canned veggies left). The bread aisle also didn't have much bread, although there were lots of tortillas left. Frozen food was sparse also.

Again, what surprised me most wasn't that they had empty shelves, it was that they had empty shelves at 10:30am Monday morning. I was expecting them to have restocked at least a little overnight. There were people in the store, but not so many that they would have completely emptied some of the shelves... unless there wasn't much on them to begin with.

Supply sources are scheduled for expected demand and those supply lines are multiple levels deep. It takes awhile for the entire supply chain to ramp up and meet demand. If any link in the supply chain is short the end product isn't produced.

In addition to that all that toilet paper and the like that has been purchased isn't actually being consumed at a higher rate so all of the added production that is in the works is going to oversupply the demand in the longer term causing another chain reaction/disruption in the supply lines that will reverberate for awhile.

[Idiot]

A good friends daughter in law is a PA in the Dallas area.  Here is the text I received....  daughter in law called last night.  Dallas has a bunch of cases. Hospitals are quarantining...it's a wreck there.  They are all wearing suits with balloon masks.

Scary...…...

[Elderberry]

Food Town stores offering Senior Hour for elderly to shop without crowds amid COVID-19 concerns

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/food-town-stores-offering-senior-hour-for-elderly-to-shop-without-crowds-amid-covid-19-concerns

To help alleviate some of the concerns over getting food and supplies, the independent grocer Food Town is offering a "Senior Hour" in the greater Houston area. The grocer is opening its stores' doors for shoppers who are 65 and older to shop with from 7 a.m.-8 a.m.

Food Town had already adjusted its store hours to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, like many other grocery stores, to handle staffing and restocking.

H-E-B, Randalls, Kroger cut store hours due to COVID-19 scare

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/h-e-b-randalls-kroger-cut-store-hours-due-to-covid-19-scare

HOUSTON - H-E-B, Kroger, Fiesta and Randalls are shifting to a modified schedule to handle the large volume of customers shopping for supplies during the COVID-19 outbreak.

All H-E-B, Joe V's, Mi Tienda, and Central Market stores in the Houston area will be operating at modified hours, closing at 8 p.m. on Friday. Starting on Saturday, March 14, stores will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until further notice.

All Kroger stores are now opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 10 p.m.

[Elderberry]

Randalls reports new store hours will begin Sunday March 15. Stores will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Randalls says this move will help them keep store shelves stocked. Randalls says it will go back to regular store hours as soon as possible.

Fiesta is moving to a modified operating schedule of opening at 9 a.m. and closing at 8 p.m.

[catfish1957]

Food Town stores offering Senior Hour for elderly to shop without crowds amid COVID-19 concerns

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/food-town-stores-offering-senior-hour-for-elderly-to-shop-without-crowds-amid-covid-19-concerns

H-E-B, Randalls, Kroger cut store hours due to COVID-19 scare

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/h-e-b-randalls-kroger-cut-store-hours-due-to-covid-19-scare

Did our "batten down the hatches" run yesterday to all 3 of the local supermakets/ department stores.  Some observations:

(1) All three had still had nice and ample supplies of meats , vegetables, and general supples
(2) Big gaps in shelves for things like bread, canned soups, peanut butter (which I secured 1...not 20), bleach and disinfection supplies, bottled water (which I don't use),
(3) Only things out that I know of, were Hand Sanitizer & TP,
(4) Was only unable to fill 2 items on our list.  Pasta Sauce, and TP, which is a human pre-case study of Idiocracy.

Saw no panic, no fights.....   Looked a lot like 3 days before a hurricane hits.

[GrouchoTex]

Lcal Foodtown had groceries in it when my wife went during the day.
When I drove by it after work, the parking lot was full.

[jpsb]

I like the senior shopping hour that Food Town is doing, good idea.

[roamer_1]

Did our "batten down the hatches" run yesterday to all 3 of the local supermakets/ department stores.  Some observations:

(1) All three had still had nice and ample supplies of meats , vegetables, and general supples
(2) Big gaps in shelves for things like bread, canned soups, peanut butter (which I secured 1...not 20), bleach and disinfection supplies, bottled water (which I don't use),
(3) Only things out that I know of, were Hand Sanitizer & TP,
(4) Was only unable to fill 2 items on our list.  Pasta Sauce, and TP, which is a human pre-case study of Idiocracy.

Saw no panic, no fights.....   Looked a lot like 3 days before a hurricane hits.

Me too...
The local Franz Bread outlet store had no bread. Raisin bread, lemon bread, hamburger and hot dog buns, sure, but anything resembling actual bread (except rye which was abundant) was gone. First time I have ever seen that in my life.

The Costco was a nightmare, with lines clean out the door waiting for admission. Of the stuff I went there for, I got about half of it. The rest was non-existent. Worst problem is butter. Two packages of high dollar organic instead of 3 bricks (of 4 pkgs) like I normally do.

But I DID get coffee... Which means everything is a whole lot better.

Albertson's, same thing, though moving better. No milk, no butter, very few milk products. Some cheeses. Was no eggs neither, but they showed up while I was there, so I got 3 dozen. Worst time for this ever, as the chickens ain't laying much, and the cows are dried off for calving.

Little fresh or frozen produce... Came away with celery, apples, and a bag of grapes.

Everything else was sparse, but manageable... no Kraft Mac and Cheese, no Knorr brand rice mixes, which is alright. I can go back to scratch built, which I have all ingredients in quantity.

Oddly enough, snagged a gallon of chocolate ice cream.

All in all, barring produce, came away with about 60% of my Albertson's list.

Only things I am really aching for is milk, produce, white vinegar, and believe it or not, particularly onions.

No onions and no milk means no sausage gravy, which to me is a descent into savagery...
S'alright... I am back out today looking to get filled up.

But like I said, COFFEE. YAY! 

[catfish1957]

Me too...
The local Franz Bread outlet store had no bread. Raisin bread, lemon bread, hamburger and hot dog buns, sure, but anything resembling actual bread (except rye which was abundant) was gone. First time I have ever seen that in my life.

The Costco was a nightmare, with lines clean out the door waiting for admission. Of the stuff I went there for, I got about half of it. The rest was non-existent. Worst problem is butter. Two packages of high dollar organic instead of 3 bricks (of 4 pkgs) like I normally do.

But I DID get coffee... Which means everything is a whole lot better.

Albertson's, same thing, though moving better. No milk, no butter, very few milk products. Some cheeses. Was no eggs neither, but they showed up while I was there, so I got 3 dozen. Worst time for this ever, as the chickens ain't laying much, and the cows are dried off for calving.

Little fresh or frozen produce... Came away with celery, apples, and a bag of grapes.

Everything else was sparse, but manageable... no Kraft Mac and Cheese, no Knorr brand rice mixes, which is alright. I can go back to scratch built, which I have all ingredients in quantity.

Oddly enough, snagged a gallon of chocolate ice cream.

All in all, barring produce, came away with about 60% of my Albertson's list.

Only things I am really aching for is milk, produce, white vinegar, and believe it or not, particularly onions.

No onions and no milk means no sausage gravy, which to me is a descent into savagery...
S'alright... I am back out today looking to get filled up.

But like I said, COFFEE. YAY! 

Sounds like a good run.  Best part of the day was my wife got her vegetable plants with no problem.  I tell ya, she is a gardener's gardener.  Plans to have her 400 sq. ft. Corono-garden planted within the next few days.  We should have squash, tomatos, peppers, and others within a month. Maybe even earlier, with the warm spring we are having.

[Elderberry]

I went to Food Town this morning. I got there at almost the end of the 7 to 8, 65 and over time period. All the carts were out. I found the last hand basket. I didn't need much really but I just wanted to take a look. The produce and meat, fresh and frozen, areas looked like a normal day. No water. And very little bread, only some high dollar brand I've never seen. Their tortillas were fully stocked. By then my hand basket was stuffed and I didn't look any more.