‘What we are doing is saving lives’: Charts show Houston faring well in COVID-19 pandemic

HOUSTON – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner gave his daily coronavirus update Wednesday where he continued to stress that Houstonians practice social distancing guidelines and stay home as much as possible to help flatten the curve of the deadly virus.

Turner announced there were 52 new cases reported in Houston, bringing the city’s total to 2,331. He also reported three new deaths, which put Houston’s total at 26. All of the people who died had underlying health conditions, Turner said.

Here are some of the highlights of his Tuesday briefing:

Helping Houston

Turner was joined by the president of Reliant and NRG Retail, Elizabeth Killinger and president of the Houston Texans, Jamey Rootes.

Killinger announced that Reliant would be donating $300,000 to local first responders, healthcare workers and local non-profits as they work to provide crucial services to the community.

Of the $300,000, half will go toward the new Houston frontline fund to help get much-needed PPEs. The other $150,000 will go to the Houston COVID-19 recovery fund, which is a collaboration between the United Way and the Greater Houston Community Foundation.

Rootes is the co-chair of the recovery fund, and he said the money will go toward helping people most in need. The fund will help those Houstonians with basic, urgent needs like healthcare, food and shelter, Rootes said.

Anyone interested in donating to the recovery fund can do so at Greaterhoustonrecovery.org. People in need are urged to call 211, which is the Texas United Way helpline.

Things are looking up

While there continue to be new cases and deaths, Turner said the situation in Houston is starting to look better.

During the news conference, Turner showed charts on how Houston has fared compared to some of the country’s largest cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

One of the charts showed COVID-19 deaths by jurisdiction per 100,000 people. In New York, there are 94.1 deaths per 100,000. In Seattle, there are 40.7, in Los Angeles, there are 3.6 and in Houston, there are only 1.1.

According to Dr. David Persse with the Houston Health Department, those numbers are indicative that Houston’s efforts to social distance, stay home, wear masks and follow other guidelines have been working.

“Our deaths, when compared to other cities, remain low,” Persse said. “…Which means that all of these things that we are doing, all of these strategies that have been put in place by mayor Turner and Judge (Lina) Hidalgo are working.”

Persse said that at the start of the pandemic when all the guidelines were being put in place officials knew that it would take time to see the efforts reflected in the numbers, and now they are seeing the results.

“We have been doing this for several weeks now and there it is,” Persse said. “On that chart is the proof that what we are doing is saving lives … If you think about it, Houston is the fourth largest city in the nation, and if you look at where we are on that graph, that is remarkable. It is probably not something anyone would have predicted two months ago.”

More work to be done

The numbers are showing positive trends, but Persse issued a reminder that when Houston reaches the peak, that is not game over – it’s halftime. More work will still have to be done as officials work to reopen the city one step at a time.

“To the viewing public, be proud of yourselves. You are doing the job,” Persse said. “You are not done, but you are doing the job.”

Turner also thanked the public and encouraged people to continue following guidelines and getting tested, because the more testing the city can do, the more data it will have in order to make the decision as to how quickly and to what degree Houston can reopen.

Anyone interested in getting tested can call 832-393-4220 daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. to receive a unique code before heading to a testing site.

Police ready to help

According to the Houston Police Department, they are ready to help, despite having multiple officers in quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“If you need your police department, if you need help, we will be there,” said Houston Police executive assistant chief, Matt Slinkard. “We are still operating at full capacity and we will be there top answer those calls when they come in.”

WATCH LIVE: Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston health officials give update on coronavirus spread and response in Houston. MORE: https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/04/15/watch-live-mayor-sylvester-turner-gives-update-on-coronavirus-in-houston/

Posted by KPRC2 / Click2Houston on Wednesday, April 15, 2020

About the Author:

Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli has been a digital news editor at KPRC 2 since 2018. She is a published poet and has background in creative writing and journalism. Daniela has covered events like Hurricane Harvey and the Astros World Series win. In her spare time, Daniela is an avid reader and loves to spend time with her two miniature dachshunds.