WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS TALK COVID-19

  

Washington County Commissioners received an update this (Tuesday) morning about the continued developments involving the novel Coronavirus.

In his monthly report to the court, EMS Director Kevin Deramus told commissioners EMS has transported nine COVID-19 suspicious patients, with all tests coming back negative.  He said EMS is working daily with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

Deramus said EMS has a continuous work flow plan of what-if scenarios, and has a very strong relationship with Baylor Scott and White in discussing those scenarios.  He said tests are being collected at Baylor Scott and White in Brenham and College Station, and taken to its location in Temple.  He said the current average turnaround time for tests coming back positive or negative is 16 hours.

Deramus said, aside from the nine cases EMS has handled, there have been many test collections sent up that have come back negative, where the patients went home and self-quarantined until they got their test results.

Deramus added that no patients being tested for COVID-19 are currently being kept at the Brenham hospital.

 

Deramus repeated the comments he made to the Brenham School Board Monday night, saying he is sure Washington County will get a case, and it will just be a matter of controlling the situation when it happens.

Commissioner Joy Fuchs said the county knows COVID-19 is something people need to be concerned about, but it also knows people need to keep their sanity about it and try to deal it in the right way.  She said, in her time in office, the county has experienced about three health crises including H1N1 and Ebola, but this has by far been the most publicized one.

Commissioner Kirk Hanath said COVID-19 is an invisible enemy, and people need to keep calm in order to carry on.  He said poor decisions are made when people are fearful, so it is important to stay calm and consider what preventative measures are available.

Deramus said a local health care coalition, consisting of several local health officials and stakeholders, will meet tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon to discuss the ongoing situation.  He said the meeting will not necessarily be one where decisions are made, but to gather information and concerns from local officials in their respective fields.

Also in court, commissioners:

• Approved an interlocal agreement with the City of Brenham to allow city officials—in this case, Brenham Economic Development Director Susan Cates—to speak with commissioners in executive session. Cates said the Brenham City Council has this item on their agenda for its meeting Thursday.
• Spoke in executive session to seek the advice of counsel for pending or contemplated litigation, pursuant to Texas Government Code. No action was taken.
• Approved providing a mental health first aid class to all county employees. According to the motion made by commissioners, county employees are strongly advised to take these courses.
• Authorized the County Engineer to purchase one new wheel loader through BuyBoard, a state approved cooperative purchasing vendor. The purchase will be financed through Bank of Brenham for two years, at a 2.21 percent interest rate.  County Engineer Ross McCall said the old wheel loader, which is 12-15 years old, will be auctioned off.
• Approved an annual extension of contractor agreement between the county and Revenue Optimizations, LLC.
• Tabled a right-of-way permit for the Head for the Hills Bike Ride, as it has been cancelled.
• Approved using $7,922 in General Technology funds to pay for the invoice from the City of Brenham for fiber network improvements.