The Latest: Houston officials call for return to lockdown

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

HOUSTON, Texas — Top officials in Houston are calling for the city to lock back down as area hospitals strain to accommodate the onslaught of patients sick with the new coronavirus.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, both Democrats, said this weekend that a stay-at-home order is needed for America’s fourth-largest city to cope with the surge of COVID-19 cases.

The call comes after a week in which Texas continued to break records for confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths linked to the disease. State health officials reported 8,196 new cases Sunday, another 80 deaths and a total of 10,410 people hospitalized due to the virus.

The decision over a lockdown, however, rests with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott — who has resisted this step, saying it should be a last resort.



File-Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks at free COVID-19 testing provided by United Memorial Medical Center at the Mexican Consulate Sunday, June 28, 2020, in Houston. Top officials in Houston are calling for the city to lock back down as area hospitals strain to accommodate the onslaught of patients sick with the new coronavirus. Mayor Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, both Democrats, said this weekend that a stay-at-home order is needed for America's fourth-largest city to cope with the surge of COVID-19 cases. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/276bafb18bc4f380e78f938aa063e5de

[catrose]

1. Dear Gov Abbott: We're at the point of last resort. Thank you for your concern.

[Lonestarblue]

2. I wonder how many Texans have to die before Abbott thinks it's enough for another lockdown.

What a POS. We really need to get him and his cronies out of office in 2022. I think Beto or Julian Castro might be able to do it.

[DuaneBidoux]

10. It won't be ANY number of deaths, it would be a poll for Nov. state elections.

[soothsayer]

3. Come on, man. Lock it down.

[marybourg]

4. The fifth largest is not far behind.

[onetexan]

5. I cannot believe this. A country like Laos has 19 covid cases, & US has 3.3 million

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

WTH is wrong with this picture that these damn Republicans don't get?

[DSandra]

7. Republicans apparently want us to have fourth world status

[dalton99a]

6. Thanks to Trump, Abbott, and stupid motherfuckers

[BigmanPigman]

15. They look like their mouths are always open...

from either ranting their hate at others of pouring beer and nachos into them non-stop.

[regnaD kciN]

8. Isn't it interesting how so many of these "local sovereignty, anti-big-government" Republicans...

...have made a point of issuing executive orders forbidding any local jurisdictions from enacting stricter protections than they themselves decide on? I guess "local control" is only for when the local authorities are conservatives.

[DuaneBidoux]

9. This is going way beyond politics and this Houstonian is pissed.

This morning I drove to take a dog for a long (isolated) walk and on my way I saw a megachurch packed. And saw Tweets of a bar last night in Houston that was packed. They have to re-shut the restaurants and everything. Now I'm getting downright scared. They have to take away any reason to go out now. Turner (mayor) is asking for permission to shut metro area down but from Abbott crickets. Turner has tried. Local officials (all Dem of course) have been hampered but continued to do all Abbott let them do.

And now DeVos and Trump are threatening if we don't go back to school? I can't imagine anything worse at this moment. Suddenly you've got hundreds of thousands of kids all participating in super spreader events.

But what really pisses me off is that IT DID NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. We could have been back and humming by now like Europe with an economy that can function.

The good news is that I just saw a new poll showing Biden leading Trump in Texas by 5. So, even Texas has a breaking point.

[cannabis_flower]

14. The one consolation is that..

even if the schools open up at least half the parents won't want to send their kids. There will be a lot of kids online even if the schools open up and classes will be 50% of normal.

[PSPS]

12. "it should be a last resort" is GOP-speak for "the pile of dead bodies isn't high enough yet"

Last edited Mon Jul 13, 2020, 12:42 AM - Edit history (1)

[cannabis_flower]

13. This was June 28th..

It hasn't happened yet.