Houston area officially crosses hospitalization threshold leading to reopening of rollbacks

HOUSTON – The Houston area officially passed the hospitalization threshold on Tuesday leading to a rollback of reopenings for the area, and the state sent letters to district judges to notify them of the requirement.

Data from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows that coronavirus-related hospital admissions in Trauma Service Area Q, including Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties, are above 15% for seven consecutive days. That leads to a stipulation of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s reopening mandate, which requires, among other things, that bars close and restaurants to reduce capacity to 50%.

KPRC 2 has obtained copies of the letters sent to the judges in the nine provinces that make up TSA Q. You can read them below.

A DSHS spokesperson said the order will take effect immediately.

This would be the the same rollbacks instituted in Galveston and Brazoria counties, which are located in Trauma Service Area R just before Christmas.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said she expected Tuesday’s numbers to push the region over the threshold.

“This is a wake-up call for us,” said Hidalgo.

The judge said people should take the situation seriously and take action to change the course of the numbers. She said this means that people should wear their masks, stay at home as much as possible, wash their hands, avoid meetings and get tested.

“Each of us knows the drill,” Hidalgo said. ‘We’ve done it before. We have to do it again. “

Bar owners are worried about survival

Mel’s Place, a restaurant turned restaurant in north Houston, said a capacity reduction of up to 50% would be devastating for their small business, which is already struggling to make ends meet.

Pamela Hillhouse, owner of Mel’s Place on Airline Drive, said she needed to use more money to get a permit and produce to serve food.

“You have to buy the equipment to cook – all of that – it’s just been really hard,” Hillhouse said.

Stella Birchfield, the head bartender at Mel’s Place, said she chose to retire from her other job and worked at the bar for years to take care of regulars.

‘This is my home. I have retired from the province and this is my place where I have all my people here – my family. It just means a lot to me, ”Birchfield said.

Miles away, in Fort Bend County, Karla Webb, owner of Stafford Ice House, said her business has been in the family for 27 years.

“We are all owned and managed by women,” said Webb.

Known as the “friendliest bar in town”, the company caters to many familiar faces.

“Our customers are important to us; they’re our family, so we don’t want to make them sick, and we’re looking at what our protocol is, ”said Webb.

Webb chooses not to close despite the order because she and her employees depend on the company for survival.

“We will not survive another shutdown because the bills will not stop. You still have to pay your bills, ”Webb said.

Webb said they will continue their efforts to protect customers.

“Customers are safer here than in the supermarket,” said Webb.

You can watch a replay of Hidalgo’s press conference below: