Looking for April 6-10 updates? Find them here.
Update 5:31 p.m. April 3
- Harris County reports 519 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, outside the city of Houston as of 4 p.m. April 3.
- Fort Bend County reports 255 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, as of 4 p.m. April 3. Approximately 51 of these cases are in Precinct 3, which includes Fulshear and a portion of Katy.
- Waller County reports eight confirmed positive cases as of 4:42 p.m. April 3. Two of these cases are in Katy.
Katy area
Supplies and volunteers are running low at several local organizations. Here are 10 ways to help the community.
Harris County
A Harris County administrative judge has voided an order from County Judge Lina Hidalgo authorizing a review process for the release of some nonviolent inmates from the Harris County Jail shortly after the first few inmates were released April 3.
The Texas Tribune demographics reporter Alexa Ura interviewed Hidalgo in a livestream. She answered questions about how the county is responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. Read Community Impact Newspaper's recap here, and view the video here.
Houston area
George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport are making changes in response to the coronavirus: Flights are being cancelled, Transportation Security Administration checkpoints are being reduced. Learn more here.
Also, ExxonMobil donated $200,000 to the Houston Food Bank and $50,000 to the Montgomery County Food Bank.
Update 6:26 p.m. April 2
- Harris County reports 449 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, outside the city of Houston as of 4 p.m. April 2.
- Fort Bend County reports 221 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, as of 4 p.m. April 2.
- Waller County reports eight confirmed positive cases as of 3:28 p.m. April 2.
Fulshear
Effective April 3, the city’s waste provider, WCA, will no longer provide curbside recycling services. Instead, two dumpsters are available for city residents to bring their recyclable materials. This change was enacted because a WCA driver has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Fort Bend County
Judge KP George extended the county’s "Stay Home to Save Lives" order through April 30.
Precinct 3, which includes Fulshear and a portion of Katy, is reporting 21% of county’s confirmed COVID-19 cases as of April 1.
Waller County
Waller County created a task force to educate and enforce social distancing practices in the community. Members of the task force will respond to calls reporting individuals and businesses not complying with executive orders in place.
Additionally, Daikin Texas Technology Park has temporarily closed until April 13 after a second employee tested positive for COVID-19.
Houston area
Data shows home listings are down, but a Houston-area Realtor says deals are still happening. Learn more about how the real estate industry is faring amid COVID-19 here.
Also, there are several resources available for renters who may be struggling financially.
State of Texas
Sen. John Cornyn discussed provisions laid out in CARES Act, while Texas has seen a 77% increase in unemployment insurance claims during the week ending March 28.
Update 5:27 p.m. April 1
- Harris County reports 389 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, outside the city of Houston as of 4 p.m. April 1.
- Fort Bend County reports 194 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, as of 4 p.m. April 1.
- Waller County reports five confirmed positive cases as of 4:39 p.m. April 1.
Fort Bend County
Fort Bend County revealed the first day of survey results of how the "Stay Home to Save Lives" order is affecting residents.
About 53% of respondents said they believe they can financially sustain their household only for one to four weeks if their workplace closed and they received no additional pay. Just as many people said they feel the order is enough to keep the county safe.
Take the survey here.
Waller County
Waller County has a total of five confirmed positive cases as of 4:39 p.m. The most recent case is a male in his 30s living in ZIP code 77493, which is in the Katy area.
Additionally, Judge Trey Duhon extended his emergency order through April 30. The order aligns with Gov. Greg Abbot’s executive order issued March 31.
State
First responders are worried about their ability to protect their communities into the future. According to a survey among 251 statewide emergency services districts, two-thirds of respondents were concerned about a lack of personal protective equipment, or PPE, and half said an inability to procure enough PPE has already affected their service providers.
Although the city of Katy and Katy ISD have postponed their May 2 elections, other cities, towns and school boards across Texas have not. Learn more about about this decision here.
Update 7:39 p.m. March 31
- Harris County reports 303 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, outside the city of Houston as of 4 p.m. March 31.
- Fort Bend County reports 163 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, as of 4 p.m. March 31.
- Waller County reports three confirmed positive cases as of 3:11 p.m., March 31.
Katy ISD
Katy ISD announced it will follow Gov. Greg Abbott’s March 31 executive order and extend its temporary closure to May 4. Other local charter and private schools have also issued campus closures.
Harris County
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo extended the "Stay Home-Work Safe" order through 11:59 p.m., April 30. This order requires residents to stay home and avoid all nonessential travel.
Fort Bend County
Fort Bend County extended emergency declaration to April 30. Also, a third testing site in the county opened in Sugar Land.
The peak of coronavirus cases is expected to occur between April 6-15, said Jacquelyn Minter, Fort Bend County Health and Human Services Department director and local health authority. With this estimate, case counts would wind down in May.
Katy area
Wondering if your favorite Katy-area park is open or closed? Check out our guide here.
Houston area
A senior business economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Houston Branch, discusses the energy industry's 2020 outlook amid coronavirus concerns.
And Patrick Jankowski, the senior vice president of research at the Greater Houston Partnership, said he believes the Greater Houston area will see more than 150,000 job losses through the end of the year due to the coronavirus and an energy industry downturn.
State
Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order for the state on the coronavirus, extending school closures and clarifying essential services
Update 7:40 a.m. March 31
- Harris County reports 254 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, outside the city of Houston as of 3 p.m. March 30.
- Fort Bend County reports 138 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, as of 4 p.m. March 30.
- Waller County reports three confirmed positive cases as of 4:43 p.m., March 30.
Katy ISD
The Katy ISD board of trustees voted to to postpone the May 2 elections to Nov. 3 at the regular March 30 meeting. Their reasons for this action included concern for public safety and following state and federal leadership regarding social distancing practices.
Before the March 30 meeting ended, Superintendent Ken Gregorski expressed gratitude toward district staff and the board members for working through these challenging times. He also addressed the community.
“We certainly understand the challenging times that we’re in, and we’re experiencing some things that some of us have never experienced in a lifetime before,” he said. “Know that we are here to support you; we’re going to get through this part together.”
Harris County
The stay-home order in Harris County, set to expire April 3, is likely to be extended March 31, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said.
Update 6:31 p.m. March 30
- Harris County reports 254 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, outside the city of Houston as of 3 p.m. March 30.
- Fort Bend County reports 138 confirmed positive cases, including two deaths, as of 4 p.m. March 30.
- Waller County reports three confirmed positive cases as of 4:43 p.m., March 30.
Fort Bend County
Fort Bend County will open its first county-supported coronavirus testing site in collaboration with AccessHealth, a not-for-profit health center. The site will offer free COVID-19 testing and will only test patients who are prescreened. Patients can begin this screening process by going online here.
AccessHealth said the site opens March 31 but did not publicly provide the address of the site.
Harris County
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County has suspended all Park & Ride routes, except those serving the Texas Medical Center, and has made other adjustments to its bus and rail schedules, effective March 30, the transit agency announced.
Update 11:20 a.m. March 30
- Harris County reports 213 confirmed positive cases, including one death, outside the city of Houston as of 3 p.m. March 28.
- Fort Bend County reports 119 confirmed positive cases, including one death, as of 4 p.m. March 29.
- Waller County reports three confirmed positive cases as of 6:41 p.m., March 28.
The district will continue to serve free meals March 30-April 3 to children age 18 and younger while the district is temporarily closed. Grab-and-go meals are served from 9-11:30 a.m.
Katy ISD has updated its list to include 12 campuses. Cinco Ranch High School and Maybe Creek High School are new to the list this week, while Mayde Creek Elementary School’s last day to serve meals was March 27. Learn more here.
Waller County
On March 28, Judge Trey Duhon reported the county's first three confirmed positive cases.
Looking for March 23-27 updates about the coronavirus? Find them here.
Looking for March 16-20 updates about the coronavirus? Find them here.
