RICHMOND, Texas – Fort Bend County Judge KP George and other county officials held a news conference Tuesday to talk about the coronavirus risk level within the community.
According to George, Fort Bend County has seen an exponential increase in positive cases in just 30 days. The county now has 5,015 positive cases, which is more double the number of cases since June 14.
Recommended Videos
George urged community members to follow guidelines, wear a face covering or stay home, because if people do not, the county could be heading toward a shutdown.
Shutting down is the last thing George said he wants to do, but he said with the growing number of hospitalizations and positive cases, he may have no choice if people don’t do their part.
According to George, the county’s coronavirus level has been elevated to red.
“This is not a drill. This is real,” George said.
“I encourage people, if you don’t need to go out, please don’t go out,” he added.
Fort Bend County Health & Human Services Director Dr. Jacquelyn Johnson-Minter said a false sense of security following the initial drop in numbers resulted in the second spike.
“We cannot tell this virus what we will and will not do,” Minter said. “The virus will teach us what is safe and what is prudent to do.”
Minter said hospitals at the Texas Medical Center and local Fort Bend County hospitals have reported that they are at initial capacity, which is considered a pre-surge.
“Every one of our communities (is) looking at alternate care sites in the event that there is not enough capacity at the hospitals,” Minter said.
George asked people to make sure they are getting their information from the right source. People can go to coronavirusfortbend.gov for more information.
Watch the full news conference below:
🔴WATCH LIVE: Fort Bend County judge gives update on COVID-19 risk within community
Posted by KPRC2 / Click2Houston on Tuesday, July 14, 2020