BRENHAM, WASHINGTON CO. LEADERS ESTABLISH JOINT INFORMATION CENTER FOR COVID-19 DATA
A Joint Information Center (JIC) has been established within Washington County EMS to provide Washington County elected officials and media outlets current COVID-19 information.
The JIC is made up of Washington County emergency management officials, the City of Brenham, the Chamber of Commerce, local school districts, Blinn, and Baylor Scott and White. The single point of contact will look to provide state and local media outlets, as well as city and county elected officials, a real-time source for information. Information from local stakeholders, like hospitals and funeral home directors, is passed on through the JIC and, once confirmed, is given to local elected officials and news media.
EMS Director Kevin Deramus said the EMS Situational Command Room, established in 2016 after the flooding events, was converted into the JIC to keep a closer eye on COVID-19 developments in Washington County. The JIC keeps track of all those tested, those that are confirmed positive, those that are self-quarantining at home or hospitalized, and those that have recovered. For the county, it also keeps tabs on how much personal protective equipment is available for use by EMS staff, and also provides a regional hospital status board as a way to check on which hospitals in the area are treating COVID-19 patients.
Currently, there are 16 positive cases of COVID-19 in Washington County. Fifteen patients are self-quarantined and are recovering at home, while one patient remains hospitalized. Deramus encouraged the community to keep these people in their thoughts and prayers, not just as a new numbered case, but as fellow community members.
Deramus noted that, while the number of those tested for COVID-19 in Washington County sat at 125 as of this (Wednesday) morning, that number is also made up of people in surrounding communities who come to Washington County to get tested because of its role as a "healthcare hub". He also showed the number of recovered cases in Washington County is currently zero, but said that number was also unreliable due to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) shaky definition of what a recovered case is.
Deramus said in the future, if the federal government is right by saying 10 percent of all COVID-19 cases are hospitalized, county officials could do "reverse math" to more accurately determine how many people actually have cases of COVID-19.
As positive cases continue to increase, many questions and rumors fly around. According to privacy laws and regulations, when a person tests positive, only certain information can be shared. The JIC will continue to provide and update a list of positive cases with age ranges and genders. Those cases are immediately turned over to health officials, where they gather and track the details and contact those that may have been exposed.
Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott passed orders implementing essential services and activities protocol for the state, reviewing and amending federal distancing guidelines, and closing schools through at least May 4th. Effective tonight at midnight and running through April 30th, tattoo and piercing studios and cosmetology salons were added to the existing closures of dine-in restaurants, bars, food courts, gyms, and massage parlors. Exemptions are allowed for essential services and activities like grocery stores, healthcare, banking and financial services, utilities, childcare for essential service employees, and government services.
Residents are not prohibited from engaging in essential daily activities like jogging or bicycling, so long as the necessary precautions are maintained to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and minimize in-person contact with people not in the same household. City of Brenham parks remain open, but public restrooms have been closed to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. City councilmembers will meet this week to discuss the possible closure of playgrounds and courts, but greenspaces would remain open.
An updated list of confirmed cases is available at www.washingtoncountyems.net/covid-19-confirmed-cases/. Deramus noted the site will occasionally go down if it is being edited with new information.