HOUSTON — Mayor Sylvester Turner urged Houstonians to stay home this weekend saying the coronavirus is still "running rampant."
The city is in full crisis mode as the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths continues to surge. Harris County remains on red alert level 1.
"If we do not turn our numbers around and adhere to the advice we have been saying, there will be no choice but to do a stay home order. Our destiny is in our hands," Turner said.
The mayor started his news conference with the sad news that two City of Houston employees have passed from COVID-19. In all, 286 municipal employees -- not including police and fire -- have tested positive.
- The number of deaths in Houston over the last 24 hours once again reached double digits with 11. Four Asians, Four Hispanics -- including a woman in her 40s -- and three African Americans have died in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 315 in Houston.
- "There are currently 700 people in ICUs in Harris County who are fighting for their lives. That is a huge number," said Houston Health Authority Dr. David Persse. Another 1,600 patients are being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals across Houston and Harris County.
- Houston Fire Capt. Leroy Lucio, a 30-year veteran of HFD, remains in ICU in a San Antonio hospital. "He's a fighter and we're hoping for a full recovery, but please keep him in your thoughts and in your prayers," Chief Samuel Pena said.
- The total number of positive cases in Houston has reached 34,681. "This virus is running rampant and we are all, in one way or another, paying the price," Turner said. He said 282,661 Houstonians have been tested.
- We have the fifth-highest number of cases per 100,000 people in the United States, According to Dr. Persse. Only New York City, New Orleans, Chicago and Los Angeles have more.
- The number of deaths per 100,000 people Houston is relatively low. “Don’t let anybody be fooled by the number of deaths we’re reporting into thinking we don’t have a problem,” Dr. Persse said.
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- He credited the medical community for "tremendous work" saving so many lives but said they're going to be overwhelmed.“There is a limit to the miracles they can perform so we need to keep ahead of this."
- Firefighters are also exhausted as staffing issues continue because of COVID-19. Pena said firefighters are working double, sometimes triple shifts and there's no quick fix.
- HFD has responded to more than 9,000 complaints about non-compliant businesses since March, including 69 in the last 24 hours.
- If you see businesses that don't comply to Gov. Abbott's orders, call 311.