Dispatches from the Texas Lockdown

It seems forever since Texas went into full lockdown mode over the Wuhan coronavirus, but it’s only been a week. Since I was already working from home full-time, I’m doing fine, but I can understand how more social people might be climbing the walls by now. Here’s a quick roundup of notable Texas coronavirus news.

  • Total statewide coronavirus cases top 2,900.
  • Texas Counties with the highest number of coronavirus cases as of this morning are:
    1. Harris: 563
    2. Dallas 549
    3. Tarrant 238
    4. Travis 206
    5. Denton 191
    6. Bexar 168
    7. Collin 160
    8. Fort Bend 138

    (The “per county” cases can be found on the “Admin2” tab on the lower left.) For those unfamiliar with Texas geography, Denton and Collin are both Metroplex suburban counties, while Fort Bend is directly southwest of Harris.

  • Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered enforcement of the quarantine order at the Louisiana border.

    Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday tightened travel to Texas by ordering some motorists from Louisiana to self-quarantine for two weeks.

    The new restrictions, effective noon Monday, came as President Donald Trump extended social distancing guidelines through April 30, preventing all nonessential travel in the country.

    Louisiana’s status as a hot spot for the novel coronavirus grew Sunday to more than 3,500 positive cases statewide. Under the new rules, drivers with commercial, medical, emergency response, military or critical infrastructure purposes for entering Texas would be exempted.

    A spokesman for the Department of Public Safety said Sunday the agency was not prepared to comment on the details of the new measures.

  • Both Governor Abbott and Travis County doctors are looking for specific hospitals to isolate coronavirus patients in.
  • In Houston, they’re looking to reopen at least one closed hospital, and in Dallas they’re looking at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center as an overflow facility.
  • Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued an opinion prohibiting counties and municipalities from banning firearms sales during the emergency.
  • Houston Methodist hospital is the first to treat coronavirus patients with recovered patient blood.
  • If the local HEB is any measure, the worst of the panic buying appears to be over, though there are still hole in the shelves. Meat was abundant, I was able to find olive oil (missing last week), and everything except toilet paper seemed obtainable.
  • All in all, we seem to be doing a lot better than New York and California. Which is usually the case in non-emergency times as well…

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    5 Responses to “Dispatches from the Texas Lockdown”

    1. Dwight Brown says:

      The biggest holes in our HEB shopping (other than paper towels and toilet paper, and we’re stocked on both) are, oddly enough, half and half for coffee (but there’s plenty of non-daily creamer) and dishwashing detergent.

    2. T Migratorious says:

      Just came from our local HEB. No flour or bulk coffee, but got pretty much everything else on my list. Forgot to look for toilet paper since we don’t need any–and didn’t before the panic. I did see someone leaving with TP in their basket, though.

      Social distancing protocol for checking out was a little weird because I’d never done it before.

      Calm, happy atmosphere as always.

    3. Paul A'Barge says:

      HEB –
      isopropyl alcohol is missing from the HEB.com website products
      hand sanitizer is missing from the HEB.com website products
      Curbside schedules are now showing 2+weeks out as the first possible date/time
      Open hours are still 8-8 and the line is long in Bastrop at 8 am
      No red kidney beans (are they being hoarded in Louisiana?)
      Bastrop bulk aisle – the lower 1/2 is tarped over. A sign says the items will not return
      Toilet paper – I don’t even look anymore.
      If you really want toilet paper, try adding 1 package to your HEB.com shopping cart, checking out and scheduling a curbside pickup as early in the day as possible, preferably 8 am.

    4. Lawrence Person says:

      I found isopropyl alcohol last week at my local HEB, so it may depend on when you go.

    5. jabrwok says:

      Still no toilet paper at my HEB here in Washington Co. Haven’t looked for isopropyl alcohol because I have an almost-full bottle and don’t use it much. Shelf-stable staples (rice and beans) seem to disappear quickly, but not as quickly as the TP. Better to shop in the morning (and apparently the local store isn’t abiding by the 8-8 rules, still opening at 6am I’ve been told, though I haven’t checked that).

      Bearable on the whole. I do hope the TP hysteria passes soon. I’ve got a goodly supply for the next month or so (and running water, so that’s an alternative should it be needed), but this is getting ridiculous(er).

    Leave a Reply