MRT: TX Virus Deaths Hit Record; Elective Surgeries Banned in 100+ Counties; Abbott at 44% on COVID-19 Response; $133M Cut Proposed to Health Services
Here's What You Need to Know in Texas Today.
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BY: @MattMackowiak
FRIDAY – 07/10/20
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TOP NEWS
"Texas hits new record for virus deaths as hospitals scramble,"AP's Paul J. Weber -- "Worsening coronavirus trends in Texas again set another grim milestone Thursday as the state reported more than 100 deaths in a single day for the first time, making this the deadliest week of the pandemic in what has rapidly become one of America’s virus hot zones.
In addition to 105 new deaths, Texas also reported a new high for hospitalizations for the 10th consecutive day and the rolling rate of positive tests inched closer to nearly 16% — the highest in the pandemic yet.
“I gotta tell you, I think the numbers are going to look worse as we go into next week,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott told Houston television station KRIV.
The bleak numbers, and uncertainty over when a reversal might come, has hospitals across Texas amplifying calls for more staff and scrambling to make room for new COVID-19 patients filling beds. In Weslaco on the Texas-Mexico border, an emergency room has already set up a medical tent outside with 20 beds, but hospital officials warned that far more are needed.
“We really needed a 1,000-bed field hospital from the federal government yesterday,” said Wesley Robinson, the assistant chief nursing officer of the South Texas Health System.
Capacity has become so stretched, Robinson said, that he estimated the region needed 25 new beds a day to meet demand.
The resurgence of the virus in Texas has put a heavy strain on border hospitals that are smaller and have less life-saving equipment than Houston or Dallas, which are also hard hit but have far more beds to offer. Nearly 60% of the roughly 1,200 medical staff that Texas health officials have deployed to stretched-thin hospitals have been sent to the Rio Grande Valley, said Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Abbott, who last month banned elective medical procedures in Texas’ biggest cities as cases began creeping up again, expanded those restrictions Thursday to hospitals serving more than 100 counties, including some in rural swaths of the state. Texas health officials say more than 11,000 beds remain open in Texas, although availability varies by region.
Texas reported more than 9,600 coronavirus patients in Texas hospitals on Thursday. During the dark early days of the pandemic in the U.S., New York had more than 18,000 hospitalizations at its peak.
“The State of Texas continues to implement strategies to help ensure ample supply of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients,” Abbott said in a statement.
The move to free up more beds is the latest rollback of restrictions that Abbott began lifting in May as he embarked on one of the most aggressive reopenings in America. His reversals, which have included shuttering bars again and mandating face coverings in most of Texas, have been welcomed as long overdue by Democratic leaders in big cities but have made him the target of backlash within his party." AP
"Texas bans elective surgeries in more than 100 counties as coronavirus hospitalizations keep climbing,"The Texas Tribune's Emma Platoff -- "With cases of the new coronavirus and related hospitalizations rising at alarming rates, Gov. Greg Abbott expanded his ban on elective medical procedures Thursday to cover more than 100 counties across much of the state.
Surgeries and other procedures that are not “immediately, medically” necessary — which have already been on hold in many of the state’s biggest cities and several South Texas counties — are now barred in much of the state, from far West Texas to much of Central Texas, Southeast Texas and the Gulf Coast.
Those procedures can still take place in some, mostly rural parts of the state, including the Panhandle and the South Plains, as well as much of North and Northeast Texas, excluding Dallas County.
"We are freeing up more resources to address upticks in COVID-19 related cases,” Abbott said in a statement. “The State of Texas will continue to do everything we can to mitigate the spread of this virus and support our hospitals and health care professionals as they care for their fellow Texans.”
Abbott's order makes an exception for procedures that, "if performed in accordance with the commonly accepted standard," would not deplete hospital capacity needed for battling the coronavirus." Texas Tribune
"Texans' approval of Gov. Greg Abbott's COVID-19 response drops to 44%, poll shows,"The Houston Chronicle's Taylor Goldenstein -- "As Texas became one of the worst-affected states in the pandemic, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's approval ratings for his response sank to 44 percent — fifth-lowest in the country among governors, a new poll shows.
In late April, the survey released Tuesday by The COVID-19 Consortium, a joint project of Harvard, Northeastern, Rutgers, and Northwestern universities, found that most Texans, 60 percent, approved of Abbott’s countermeasures. That number dipped in subsequent surveys, landing at 44 percent as of late June.
The online survey of 22,501 people was conducted from June 12 to June 28; Abbott’s approval ratings had a margin of error of 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
The survey found that approval ratings for states’ top leaders throughout most of the country have plunged, with the average governor experiencing a 10-point decline from late April to late June. Abbott had a 16-percent drop; his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Texas, other polls have shown a similar downward trend — such as a June UT/Texas Politics Project poll that found 49 percent of Texans were happy with his response to the pandemic, down from 56 percent in April.
The survey released Thursday showed that among Texans, Abbott's approval eclipses that of President Donald Trump, who has slipped from 42 percent in late April to 36 percent in late June." Houston Chronicle
"After ‘horrifying’ defund police efforts, investors will pay moving costs for California companies to relocate to Texas,"The Dallas Morning News' Natalie Walters -- "Location advisory firm Spectrum Location Solutions’ motto, “helping businesses grow in great locations,” doesn’t include California.
But it does include Texas. In fact, that’s its top choice.
The Pittsburgh-based company, which moved out of California in 2018, is teaming up with three private investors to cover moving costs for businesses to flee states it considers business hostile, like California, to more business-friendly states, like Texas.
The offer applies to any business with revenue ranging from $5 million to $200 million, said Joe Vranich, the firm’s president and a frequent critic of California’s business environment. He has been tracking corporate migration away from California for years.
“California is our No. 1 target because the irresponsibility of California’s politicians has reached new levels,” he said. This year, California is considering raising business taxes and enacting legislation that will increase labor and litigation costs.
“People who do good work deserve a bouquet instead of a brick,” Vranich said about the difference between Texas and California. “The whole economic apparatus in the state of Texas is top-notch.”
Vranich said he was hired by the investors to act as a front door for the program, and he’s had a “couple of calls.” The investors, who want to remain anonymous, can take on several companies each, he said." Dallas Morning News
"State: Dog has first case of coronavirus in Texas animal," via AP-- "A North Texas dog has been found to have the first coronavirus infection confirmed in a Texas animal, state officials said.
The Texas Animal Health Commission announced in a statement that the Fort Worth-area dog was confirmed to have the virus that causes COVID-19.
A private veterinarian tested the pooch Tuesday as a precaution after its owners were confirmed to have COVID-19. The veterinarian reported the 2-year-old dog is otherwise healthy, according to the commission statement.
The dog is not the first animal in the nation to test positive for the coronavirus. Ten other animals have tested positive for the virus, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website.
State Veterinarian Dr. Andy Schwartz assured that there is no known evidence that pets can transmit the virus, but they can catch it. He advised that pets be restricted from contact with persons with the coronavirus." AP
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
"Proposal cuts $130 million from Texas health agency to ease coronavirus-battered budget,"The Austin American-Statesman's Julie Chang -- "State officials have proposed cutting $133 million in health services from the current budget, whittling away dollars in women’s health, child abuse protection and services for adults and children with disabilities, according to advocates.
The cuts are in response to a May 20 directive from Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen to state agencies to cut 5% from their current two-year budgets as the state grapples with the spread of the coronavirus and a weakening economy. The proposal by Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which consumes the largest portion of the state’s spending after education, could potentially reverse legislative requirements to better oversee child care facilities and court-ordered mandates to improve the state’s beleaguered foster care system.
The proposal is also sparse on details about how women’s health, family violence prevention programs and services for individuals with traumatic brain injuries — all mentioned as possible cuts — would be affected.
Agency officials, who acknowledged in the proposal that they already operate very leanly, have said the cuts are subject to change.
“During a health crisis, we should be enhancing supports in terms of health coverage and health programs, and making sure kids are able to be enter school ready as possible, rather than targeting families with young kids for budget cuts,” said Stephanie Rubin, head of Austin-based Texans Care for Children, which advocates for child welfare." Austin American-Statesman
"Gov. Abbott targeted by Democrats — and increasingly by fellow Republicans — over COVID response,"The Houston Chronicle's Jeremy Wallace -- "Gov. Greg Abbott is under increasing political fire from fellow Republicans as well as Democrats as he responds to a sharp rise in coronavirus deaths — a record 112 on Wednesday and 106 on Thursday — by implementing more restrictions on Texans and increasingly warning of another shutdown if people fail to wear masks.
Prominent Democrats are blasting Abbott for reopening too quickly and shrugging off early warning signs. On the other side, county Republican Party committees are passing censures of Abbott for some of his latest orders, including one requiring people to wear masks in counties reporting at least 20 people infected with COVID-19. Those who violate the order face $250 fines, but no possibility of jail time.
On Wednesday, the Montgomery County Republican Executive Committee voted 40-0 to censure Abbott, joining at least three other county executive committees that have taken similar steps.
Even Republican state lawmakers are beginning to press Abbott to call a special session to cede some of the decision-making to them. State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said in a Fox News Channel interview that it’s time for the Legislature to be more involved and not just leave it all up to the governor." Houston Chronicle
"Texas reverses course, says it won't collect overpaid unemployment benefits in instances when it was the state's mistake,"The Texas Tribune's Juan Pablo Graham -- "Workers who lost their jobs and received overpayments from the Texas Workforce Commission won’t have to pay back those unemployment benefits if it was the state’s mistake, commission officials now say.
That's different from the agency's previous insistence, first reported by The Houston Chronicle, that the 46,000 Texans who received overpayments in recent months would have to pay the state back — even if they were not to blame.
“Texas is prevented by court order from collecting overpayments caused solely by the commission's error,” spokesperson Cisco Gamez said Wednesday during a media update posted on Facebook. That court order, which Gamez said he was previously unaware of, dates to 1978.
"I have to apologize for giving you information that was not more clear," Gamez wrote in an email to The Texas Tribune on Thursday.
The agency is seeking $32 million in unemployment benefits back. The commission is unsure how many people were overpaid because of a TWC error but says it’s very rare. Last year, according to a U.S. Department of Labor audit, TWC was responsible for 0.4% of incorrect payments." Texas Tribune
"Austin council OKs fines of up to $2,000 for health violations,"The Austin American-Statesman's Ryan Autullo -- "Anyone operating a business or job site where workers are not wearing a mask can be hit with a civil lawsuit after Austin City Council members passed a resolution Thursday to mitigate the threat of the coronavirus spreading in workplaces.
Additionally, council members approved a measure that can lead to fines of up to $2,000 for anyone who violates a rule adopted by the local health authority. The rules, which are still being drafted, are expected to be consistent with orders from Gov. Greg Abbott and Mayor Steve Adler, which include a face covering requirement.
Both resolutions passed unanimously. The earliest they could go into effect would be Tuesday.
The council’s action came a day after Abbott wrote a letter to Adler in support of the city using civil action to enforce the governor’s statewide executive orders. Abbott called it “necessary to protect public health and safety.”
“As you know, these orders were created and adopted based on advice from medical experts, and if these orders are followed, we will be able to protect both public health and the livelihoods of our citizens,” Abbott wrote.
But Abbott did not suggest that the city had legal authority to pass ordinances outside the scope of an executive order he issued last week requiring the wearing of masks by anyone age 10 or older. So, while city officials are encouraging people to stay home and limit their contact to household members, Adler cannot give an official order that would be enforceable.
Rob Henneke, general counsel for the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation, expressed skepticism on whether Austin would actually enforce the mask requirements with civil penalties.
“What wasn’t answered today is the city’s intentions in terms of actual enforcement as well as metrics for success, both of which are sorely lacking from today’s actions by the council,” he said.
The resolutions do not indicate which city departments will be responsible for issuing fines for violations of the rules." Austin American-Statesman
2020
"Texas GOP sues Houston over convention cancellation,"The Austin American-Statesman's Asher Price -- "Claiming it was treated unfairly because of its political viewpoint, the Republican Party of Texas sued the city of Houston after its mayor directed the cancellation of the party’s state convention contract due to coronavirus concerns.
The Texas GOP is seeking a state court order blocking Houston from canceling next week’s gathering at the city-owned convention center, arguing that city officials improperly used the pandemic as a pretext to cancel the convention.
Claiming breach of contract, the party is also seeking more than $1 million if the convention remains canceled.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner questioned the party’s priorities.
“It’s ironic they’re going to the courthouse, that in many cases is hearing and seeing cases virtually, to ask them to agree to allow 6,000 people to meet in person,” said Turner, a Democrat.
Turner has said the contract was canceled out of concern for the health of first responders, convention workers and others.
But the GOP’s lawsuit, filed Thursday, argued that the city has applied a double-standard by allowing recent mass protests to take place unhindered.
“Turner ignored the stringent safety measures put in place by the (state party) while allowing other public events that were conducted unsafely,” said the lawsuit, filed in state District Court in Harris County. “Mayor Turner’s crocodile tears reek of ideological viewpoint discrimination.”
The lawsuit included photos of throngs of people protesting outdoors in Houston.
“Of course, the RPT is fully supportive of the rights of individuals to engage in the George Floyd protests and against police brutality; the RPT simply wants to hold its convention, which is also a protected activity,” the Republican Party of Texas lawsuit said.
Asked to review the petition by the American-Statesman, University of Texas law professor and constitutional scholar Lawrence Sager said the viewpoint discrimination claim “is extremely weak on the facts.”
He said if a Black Lives Matter convention had been scheduled, “it’s extremely likely that Houston would cancel that as well.”
“Everything about this situation is on the side of believing it was a content-neutral, self-protective decision — and protective of hospitals, hospital workers, the ability of anyone who gets really sick to get into the ICU, and protective of anyone who comes to the convention,” Sager said.
Turner has drawn a distinction between the protests and the planned convention.
“If people want to march from George R. Brown (Convention Center) to City Hall, that’s your right. That’s a First Amendment right,” Turner said Wednesday. “It’s a different thing when you’re talking about an indoor convention for two or three days in close proximity.”
When it comes to a protest march, he said, “nobody is serving them lunch. ... Nobody is making their beds or cleaning their rooms.”" Austin American-Statesman
"Judge denies Texas GOP's attempt to proceed with in-person convention, siding with Turner,"The Houston Chronicle's Jasper Scherer -- "A Harris County judge on Thursday denied the Texas Republican Party’s request for a court order that would have barred Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston First Corp. from canceling the party’s in-person convention next week in downtown Houston.
Republican Party Chairman James Dickey said the party would appeal to the Texas Supreme Court after state District Judge Larry Weiman turned down requests for temporary restraining orders from both the Texas GOP and Steve Hotze, a Houston Republican activist, after hearing their cases concurrently. Hotze attorney Jared Woodfill said he also plans to seek a writ of mandamus from the Supreme Court on Friday to bar Turner from canceling the convention.
The Texas GOP lawsuit, filed hours after Hotze’s challenge, alleges that Turner erred when he invoked a “force majeure” clause of the contract between the Texas GOP and Houston First, the city’s public nonprofit that operates the George R. Brown Convention Center. The suit also names the city and Houston First President Brenda Bazan.
Turner, who ordered Houston First to cancel the convention on Wednesday, said the clause allows one side to cancel over something out of its control, including “epidemics in the City of Houston.” In its petition filed Thursday, the GOP said Turner simply does not want to hold the convention and, therefore, fails to meet the force majeure standard.
"Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s use of the force majeure clause is just a pretext to his intent to treat the Republican Party of Texas differently than other groups, such as those we have seen from recent protests in the city of Houston,” the party said in a statement Thursday. “It should go without saying that a political viewpoint cannot be the basis for unequal treatment.”
Hotze’s lawsuit, meanwhile, is focused on arguing that Turner violated parts of the Texas Constitution that allow for freedom of expression and association.
He was joined in the lawsuit by Texas GOP secretary Josh Flynn and former Republican Party chairwoman Cathie Adams, among others. It is the latest in a string of lawsuits Hotze has filed challenging COVID-19 measures, with his most recent suit coming against Gov. Greg Abbott over his nearly statewide mask order.
Turner said he called off the convention based on concerns about Houston’s recent COVID-19 surge and input from various medical professionals. The mayor said Thursday afternoon that he had yet to see the lawsuit, though he stood by his original argument.
"The reality is, in March of this year they signed a contract that defined force majeure as a pandemic,” Turner said. “They signed that contract."
The mayor also encouraged party officials to move their convention to Montgomery County, where County Judge Mark Keoughoffered to host the event and vowed “there will be no last-minute changes.”
“I think Judge Keough in Montgomery County is more than happy to host the 6,000 delegates (there),” Turner said. “I think they should go to Montgomery County."
Dickey said the GOP is filing its appeal directly to the Texas Supreme Court “given the time sensitivity of the matter.” The convention was set to run from July 16 to 18, with committee meetings beginning Monday.
“It didn’t matter in which court this case landed, we expected a denial from the liberal Harris County courts,” Dickey said in a statement. “We thank them for a speedy denial so we can move forward with the appeal we had prepared.”
In the lawsuit, Texas Republican Party officials are seeking a temporary restraining order that would allow the convention to continue as planned and damages due to Turner’s “anticipatory breach of contract,” including the cost of all losses and the “increased costs of handling the convention elsewhere.”
The party argued that Turner and Houston First violated the “equal rights clause” of the Texas Constitution, and that Gov. Greg Abbott stripped Turner’s power to cancel the convention in one of his COVID-19 executive orders." Houston Chronicle
"Donald Trump plans to travel to West Texas for campaign fundraiser despite COVID spike,"USA Today's David Jackson -- "Already under fire for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump plans to hold a campaign fundraiser this month in one of the nation's top hot spots: Texas.
Trump is scheduled to travel to West Texas on July 29 for a "Permian Basin Special Event," a three-part series of fundraisers to be held in Odessa. Donors will choose from a $100,000-per-person "roundtable" meeting, a $50,000-per-couple photo opportunity, and a $2,800-per-person luncheon with the president, according to an invitation reviewed by USA TODAY.
"Additional details will be provided upon RSVP," the invitation says.
Trump is resuming campaign fundraisers and rallies despite surges in COVID-19 across the country. Infections have multiplied since some states, urged on by Trump, began to re-open economies that had been shut down to stop the spread of the virus. Trump's first major campaign event, a June 20 rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was "likely" a factor in a recent surge of cases there, local health officials said this week.
Aides to Trump confirmed the invitation to Odessa, but did not comment further because the even has not been publicly announced.
Trump, who has held videoconference fundraisers during the pandemic, resumed in-person events on June 11 in another Texas city: Dallas.
On June 20, Trump held his first rally in months at a half-filled sports arena in Tulsa. Health officials in that city have said coronavirus cases have increased in the weeks since, in part because of the mass of people gathered to hear a Trump.
The president's campaign has scheduled an airport rally Saturday in Portsmouth, N.H.
Matt Mackowiak, a Texas-based Republican political consultant, said he's confident the Trump campaign will handle the event appropriately.
"I expect the event will be small and carefully executed with public health guidelines protected," he said.
Trump has pushed states to re-open, despite warnings from health officials that it may have been too soon.
One of those states: Texas.
Since re-opening plans took effect, Texas has reported record numbers of COVID cases for three straight days, including more than 9,900 cases on Wednesday. As of Thursday morning, nearly 3,000 people in Texas have died of the coronavirus." USA Today
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