Response to Amarillo outbreak shows how Texas will target COVID spikes, Abbott says
As more Texas businesses begin to reopen, Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the state is preparing for waves of coronavirus outbreaks and touted teams that will be used to respond to spikes.
“We are prepared and preparing for second and third-level expansions of COVID-19. Second level would be as we go about this opening up process, we realize there could be spikes like what we have seen in Amarillo,” Abbott said Wednesday during a press conference from Amarillo City Hall.
Abbott pointed to the state’s “surge response teams” that he unveiled earlier this month as an example of how the state will target outbreaks and “tamp down any type of flare-up using the model of what we have seen in Amarillo.”
Counties in the Panhandle have seen some of the highest rates of infection across the state, with outbreaks largely tied to meatpacking plants. Both state and federal officials have been sent to the area to help investigate and contain the outbreaks.
“Then there’s talk about a potential second flare-up or third flare-up in the fall or wintertime when the regular flu occurs and COVID-19 could occur if we have don’t have medicines to take care of it,” Abbott said.
Abbott pointed to the state’s stockpile of personal protective equipment and Texas-based manufacturers that will help ensure the state doesn’t run low on supplies going forward. And he raised the possibility of reinstating measures like temporary bans on elective medical procedures as an option the state could take to free up hospital capacity.
“Now it’s not needed,” Abbott said. “As a result, now it’s time for people who have those health care needs to get those addressesd.”
Abbott said a key part of containing the virus’ spread will be devoting resources to vulnerable populations, like seniors living in nursing homes and racial and ethnic minorities, like Latinos and African-Americans, who have been disproportionately hit by the virus. State lawmakers have called on Abbott to establish an emergency task force to study COVID-19’s impact on Texas’ African-American communities.
“The Hispanic community, as you point out, has had an over-represenation in those who test positive and those who face some of the most serious consequences from COVID-19. As a result, we are providing resources targeting certain areas of the Hispanic community,” Abbott said. The state is working to increase testing sites in predominately Hispanic neighborhoods, he said.
Flanked by local officials, including Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson and Amarillo Public Health Director Casie Stoughton, Abbott said “Amarillo has turned the corner” after dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks in three hotspots: meatpacking plants, nursing homes and jails.
But he cautioned that it’s likely the area will see an additional spike in positive cases later this week because of increased testing at the JBS plant.
“That is to be expected,” Abbott said, predicting that the number of positive cases in the region will trend downward following that.
On May 16, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported 1,801 new cases — the highest single-day increase the state has seen. Abbott said more than 700 cases in the Amarillo area were the result of a “surge response team” that began testing employees in meat packing facilities in the area.
Officials at the JBS plant in Moore County had inititially declined the state’s offer to test workers, but then later agreed, according to the Associated Press.
The state’s “surge response teams” are tasked with targeting areas like meatpacking plants, nursing homes and jails that have seen COVID-19 outbreaks, and are collaboration between state agencies, led by the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
Four of the five counties initially restricted from reopening more businesses in the state’s second phase were in the Panhandle. The counties of Randall, Potter, Moore and Deaf Smith were required to delay reopenings until May 29.
Abbott said those reopenings are still on track to begin Friday.
“While so many people in this state are suffering from the coronavirus, there are so many more people in the state who are suffering economically,” Abbott said. “Their businesses are being shuttered, their paychecks are being lost. Their ability to feed their families is being compromised. And they need help. They need to get back to work.”
Abbott’s remarks in Amarillo came a day after he announced water parks, recreational sports, driver education programs and food courts can soon reopen as part of Texas’ phased reopening of businesses.
On Wednesday, DSHS reported that over 961,800 Texans had been tested for COVID-19, with 57,921 confirmed cases and 1,562 COVID-19 related deaths.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 4:47 PM.
