NINE CONFIRMED COVID-19 CASES IN WASHINGTON CO.
Washington County is now reporting nine confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Emergency Management Coordinator Bryan Ruemke said, as of 8 a.m. this (Monday) morning, the county had a local total of nine confirmed cases, up from seven on Sunday.
Information on the two new cases, as well as the current condition of all nine patients, has not been made available. Ruemke said information on the cases such as gender and age will not be included in his updates, which he said will be provided daily.
KWHI contacted County Judge John Durrenberger for an update on which cases are currently being hospitalized and which ones are at home under quarantine, and for clarification on how the new patients contracted the virus. Durrenberger said he has no other information at this time.
The Czech Republik now requires that their citizens wear face masks. Good results have been reported.
Y’all be safe there have family and friends love yallall just please be cateful
I’ve noticed Hohlt park is full of walkers, joggers in groups. Social distancing isn’t a concern. Letting us know the number of people with the virus in no help. When it comes to the parks and recreational areas Brenham isn’t taking it serious. We are responsible for our health choices, so please be mind full of others.
For those of you who are not concerned and think that you are bulletproof; please spare the rest of us anymore of your comments and go move to New York City and call us around next year at this same time. Also, if you receive any aid, go ahead and donate it to a first line health worker. Ok?
There are 8,623,000 people in New York City as of 2017 US census.
The total land mass of New York City is 302.6 miles.
There are 35,043 people in all of Washington County Tx as of the 2017 census.
The total land mass of Washington county is 622 miles.
Please know that our local government is making decisions based on facts like these I just presented. We are not Italy, or New York City, or LA, or even Houston. Please stop comparing our area to these other majorly conjested and poorly ventilated cities around the world. Practice social distancing (in a manner that is relevant to the facts about our community) and not those of other much more heavily populated communities.
“Have more than you show, and speak less than you know.” – William Shakespeare
I agree with WBG and WakeUp comments.
Every person is responsible for their own actions. Just stay at home. Go out for groceries or medications. We can’t control the world but we can do our part to contain this illness. And please stay home if you are sick.
There are too many groups still getting together to socialize and the police I am sure don’t want to arrest them . Where would they be put after that.
I feel we need the information about the we’re about if the ones who have it. Are they friends, family or fellow workers . Grimes county just released their new case,read the report and see how they are addressing the situation. There are no easy answers. We must be responsible for ourselves and our families. That we can do to keep this from escalating.
The govt cannot force people to stay at home. Houstonians have the order and they are coming to our county to get out of town for the day or weekend. Look at Washington on the Brazos….it is full of people from other places!
If it is perfectly safe to go to work as long as you wash your hands and don’t touch your face, why are all schools, courts, city and county offices closed? Why don’t the people who pay those salaries deserve the same protection AND benefits? Answer please Judge Durrenbuerger, are you more deserving of protection than the rest of us?
So Leon County which is more rural with the population more spread out, received their first confirmed case today, and already the judge has issued a shelter in place. Why in the world, have we in Washington County, not issued this shelter in place, with 9 confirmed cases in a more dense population. People are still congregating and act like this is not a big deal. Are we waiting for the first death? Why in Washington County are we always reactive and not proactive? Watch the news! Look at the statistics of this virus! Pay attention what other governments and counties are doing. We are already behind in this fight. Stop it now before it gets worse. Some of us follow the government guidelines, and do what we are supposed to do, but there is more that do not. Issue the order and let police patrol and fine people like other cities are doing. Quit being reactive and thinking this is not a big deal. Listen to the government Doctors on what they said about this.
Are we ready for this? Are these the kind of government guidelines we are okay with following?
“Due to lockdown, most of the transmission that’s actually happening in many countries now is happening in the household at family level,” Mike Ryan, head of health emergencies at the World Health Organization, said in a briefing on Monday. “Now we need to go and look in families and find those people that may be sick and remove them and isolate them in a safe and dignified manner.”
Wow! What a beautiful moment. You just shared one of the greatest examples of a man of faith understanding that he has hope beyond death. That no matter the reason, we are all going to come to this point in life. Thank you priest Don Giuseppe Berardelli, for showing all of us what faith can really look like. May God bless your soul…and the soul of the child of God that you sacrificed for. Your following a great leader in that respect sir.
I pray that no matter what the reason for my death will be one day, that I show my faith as strongly as you did sir, when it’s time to meet my maker. In Jesus name amen!
All these churches in the world….and yet we still worry? Come on brothers and sisters…stop fretting, be thankful for what he’s already done, and especially for what he is going to do. I love you God! And I love my brothers and sisters.
Matthew 22:34-40!
Sadly ppl are not doing their part in trying to flatten the curve,,I see alot of complaining and whining..its not alot to sacrifice for 14 days.A sacrifice greater than what is asked of us ,was a priest in Italy 4 days ago died,he gave up his respirator to a younger, a complete stranger could live..think about that next time when you feel the need to ignore the stay at home,social distancing,wash hands,close non essential buisnesses etc…ITS NOT ALOT TO ASK..
Lake Somerville was full of people camping and socializing – trail rides still taking place – basketball in numbers at Jackson street …… so many people not following any guidelines – the city of Brenham needs to shut this town down for
2 weeks – no it’s and when’s and buts ,,,,we are in trouble already With already 19 cases in county and a lot of older people and people with health problems …no one is immune
My name is Paige Keaton and I have lived here since 1981. I have a mother, a father, two sisters, 5 nieces, 2 great-nieces, 1 Autistic Nephew in his mid-30s’, Uncle’s, Aunt’s, lifelong friends and their parents as well. I don’t think anyone understands the gravity of our little town that is the hub between Houston and Austin, coming down with this illness. Our hospitals are not equipped for a car wreck or any trauma but our locals we scream at people from Houston coming here for water and food. Wait until we need hospital care and you have to watch your loved one die with jello filled lungs. Get your wills in order and I think it is about time to “have the talk” with your parents. This town as of March 30, 2020, will not order a shelter in place. God help us all. Shame on our city and county officials for letting this just “sweep through” Shame on you.
Completely agree with you! “Common Sense” a term that is quickly becoming as extinct as the dinosaurs.
It’s times like this when we realize how poorly some parents prepared their children – never teaching them common sense, allowing them to fail, teaching them discipline, humility, REAL challenges, and sacrifice. This is why so many are needlessly panicking and hording supplies that are not actually in short supply – but just challenged in getting to the stores in time to keep up with the panicked crowds.
Like it or not, we are all in this together. We will prevail – together. Stop being so selfish and follow the mandates, common sense, and social distancing guidelines while we gain ground on treatments and cures for this horrible virus.
God Bless
No one wants to leave their name because Brenham/Washington County is a good ole boy town. I’m a transplant to the area since 1993 and still don’t feel welcomed .
Me too since 2010.
This is incredibly accurate, 10 years later and still an outsider
Been here about 12 years and feel like it’s home. Many friends and I’ve always felt welcome. Don’t understand why anyone would not feel welcome in Brenham.
This. I moved here not quite two years ago and feel as though I was welcomed with open arms and have made many new friends. Maybe those who still feel like outsiders should look in the mirror to find their problem.
I find these releases to be worthless. They give no information at all. It would be good to know places these people had been at. How they were contaminated??? All they say is number who have it. Great. Thanks
Jennifer…KWHI is giving you all of the information that we are being given. Neither the Washington County Emergency Coordinator nor the County Judge would give us any more information than what you read above. I agree that more information should be made available without identifying the patients.
What has been said is they are community spread. This more than likely means they are picked up within the community from others who are infected, even if they are not showing symptoms of illness. There are even some cases where people are infected and never show signs or symptoms. You can pick it up from contact with others or even contact with surfaces that have not been cleaned. It can survive on metals and plastics 2-3 days. From there it takes on average 2-14 days for symptoms (if you have any) to take place. Then you have to get tested and wait on the results. By that time it is too late and you possibly have infected others. There is a clip on YouTube from the show Scrubs about how infection spreads. Look up Scrubs infection. The clip is 1:42 long; start the clip at 0:50 to get a good grasp on infections. Funny show but the description is pretty accurate.
What YOU could be doing is practicing social distancing, keeping things clean, and washing your hands frequently. Knowing where the people have been do absolutely zero good at this point in time and there is no way anyone can pin point exactly how they became infected.
I completely agree with you Jennifer. When the first few cases in Washington County were confirmed, we were at least given the information as to where they worked, etc. I don’t see why county officials can’t continue to relay this important information to the residents of Brenham and Washington County, (so that we citizens may determine if we have been around or in contact with those who have tested positive) while simultaneously preserving the anonymity of those infected.
If you are as fearful as the comments sound, wear a positive pressure suit. Can’t get your hands on one? Make one out of a garbage bag, duct tape, hose, and small fan box with filter.
This not even close to as bad as the Spanish Flu of 1918 and our procedures are even more draconian. People worked right through that without complaint or fear mongering in 1918. Those people had heart, courage, and understood needs/wants better.
I’m much more concerned about the soup lines and soup kitchens I’m seeing at the public schools (and we’re not even in a depression yet) and the additional $2,200,000,000,000 of debt, blood money that has been handed off to our children to pay for while the folks playing basketball in the park or playing on the beach get a check for $1200 that comes out of our children’s future. I’m going to put the check I get into a long term investment for my children out of spite, definitely not into comfort items. We had no right to do that, to take on more debt of that scale. Our grandparents didn’t put a monkey on our backs like that. Which leads me to conclude all of those whining about how sacrificing everything is worth stopping COVID-19 might possibly just be spoiled.
If you’re scared, wear a mask and gloves, practice good hygiene, keep your vulnerable (those over 60-65) locked down, inform the hospital they have two more weeks to get ready for a 5% load in respiratory illness and most importantly, get back to work and back to life. No matter what, COVID-19 was never going to be contained since we are so globalized. With globalization, it will likely be worse next time.
If we want to be able to contain things like this in the future (and you truly care about the lives of the vulnerable and marginalized), we need to bring all manufacturing back to the US, increase our requirements for anything and everyone that comes across our borders. Work on our containment procedures and our medical stockage.
This a great idea! Until all the doctors, nurses, paramedics, firemen, and police officers get infected or placed under a 2 week quarantine. President Trump should fire Dr. Fauci and hire you!!
Do you even realize that this virus is attacking all ages and killing all ages, not just 60-65? Why don’t you go get better information and statistics, instead of pulling them from your make-up I know everything encyclopedia. You obviously only care about yourself. Your comments are not even half correct on any facts you try to present. You one of those that will not follow guidelines set forth for everyone. Just so what the government doctors and CDC recommend, which is nothing what you show
You desperately need to go read a book on the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic that weirdly enough started in Kansas.
Judge Durrenberger… strong guidelines need to come from your office immediately. Businesses and the public are looking toward our government for guidance. If our local officials simply suggest changes, folks assume that everything must be ok, like it’s not really a big deal. Unfortunately, this is a very big deal. Judge, by your own admission, this disease is already in our community. And the numbers will continue to grow, not by one or two each day, but by ten or twenty at a time. Do the math. Our community may be in deep trouble in a couple of weeks. Don’t wait Judge, take a stand now.
I’ll remember this next voting time….if I’m alive
We are elderly and disabled, we will not let anyone in our home, and all delivered left at front door. I don’t understand why they have not issued a stay at home order.
It is amazing that no one, I mean one will use their real name when they are slamming the public officials. I believe the public officials are doing the best they can with information they have. I do believe the people in Washington county are heeding the CDC rules. It is all of the out of town people coming here to see the wildflowers and raid our grocery stores.
Agree David.
Restaurants are doing drive through, downtown is a ghost town. I want to ask the Heath Department WHY are these nail salons open? All the hair salons and spas have closed so WHY when your dealing with impossible sanitation and close contact is this ok? Plus it’s not fair to the business owners that are following safety rules.
They are supposed to be closed..call the number to report them…
The local health department doesn’t regulate nail salons. They are regulated by the state, as are hair salons.
This has nothing to do with the health department..these are not essential businesses and they are supposed to close down,ordered by the Governor last week..time to call them in and let them get a massive fine
There are a lot of posts to these articles with comments regarding individuals being responsible for their own actions for sheltering in place. Individuals making those comments most likely are not in a position in which they are concerned about losing their job because of their decision. The decision to shelter in place can be detrimental to employees who are at risk of being terminated by their non-essential employer losing their ability to provide for their families, losing their insurance coverage, at risk of losing their home and car, and unable to pay their bills. These same non-essential employers allow office employees to work safely from home, but require production workers to continue working in confined spaces exposing themselves in some cases to other employees who have family members that have tested positive. These employees, through asymptomatic viral shedding, could be spreading the virus to their family members who are home sheltering in place. What would your decision be? Would you risk being terminated by your employer unable to furlough/receive unemployment benefits or take the gamble you won’t contract the virus and continue to work based on the decision made by your employer? It takes the elected officials to make the right decision to protect these employees, their family members, and the community by requiring non-essential employers to shut it down.
Wanda, I had no idea the nail salons are open! Shame on them! I hope someone from the city sees your post!
Sounds like stalling to me. We need to be kept up on all phases. Where these people have been when and where contracted so we know the hot spots. We are a small area and we need to know everything. We cannot stay safe if we do not have the facts. Sorry to be so pushfull, but I am worried for our community. Please keep us completely updated. No names necessary, but all other info should be public.
Hey Judge, let’s see how many cases we can get before we enact the shelter in place. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Guess Washington County is invincible, and does what it wants, and doesn’t give a thought about the people it could affect. SMH
Agree people here are very inconsiderate !
Agreed!
Nothing good can come when everybody pretty much shops at the one same grocery store. Where are people getting this and where have they been? We should be allowed that information but get none at all.
SHUT IT DOWN !!!!!
Citizen also. This town needs to shut its doors. Every person thinks their excuse for being out and about is justified. Have groceries delivered or do curbside..I share a house with one working roommate and one who is already ill. They both allow family from out of town who have been to HEB AND WALMART AND DRUGSTORE TO come here. I am 73 years old w underlying conditions and I have called City Manager and Mayor two days ago asking for help and they have not returned my call as they say they will and have not called governor to request shut down. If that 1 or 2 perrcent that die was them or their family, bet they would shut it down.
This is ridiculous!! The count keeps growing yet officials will not order a stay at home OR shelter in place or ANYTHING!! They won’t even release where these people have been so the public will know whether or not they may have been exposed!! Obviously they want to keep everybody in the dark and wondering. That is just not fair to the public!!! Come on Judge get real and do SOMETHING!!!!
The Governor told everyone in the state of Texas the rules to go by last week..if you think your county officals will help after the Governor told you,your in for a hysterical ,scary laugh,alot of ppl are not doing what their suppose to do even in a shelter in place.you are only responsible for your own actions,so do it now,.and stop going to your grandparents house,friends house etc,that how its spreading also
We are still a small community and news gets around fast. Most of our cases are community spread thru group activities. People cannot break their habits and are compelled to continue with their intimate cocktail gatherings, daily beer joint trips and early morning coffee klatches for retirees. Hopefully the growing number of community spread cases will impress upon them to cease and desist for the near future. I suggest gentlemen have their wives teach them about Facebook and private messaging.
Food for thought:
1) When “shelter in place” is enacted people panic.
2) When “shelter in place” is enacted calls to suicide hotlines increase
3) When “shelter in place” is enacted domestic violence calls spike
4) There is now a treatment that has about a 99% success rate and has just been approved by the FDA – Malaria drug + a zpac, a 5 – 6 days recovery timeline
5) Testing procedures are much faster now – latest one made by Abbott gives results in 5 minutes for positive, 13 minutes for negative
My daughter lives in Katy, ever since the “shelter in place” orders people are going crazy. Fights in Walmart, people being arrested, store being shut down. They are having problems even getting milk for the kids, they can usually only find it a gas station stores at a much higher cost than grocery stores. Be careful what you wish for!
I have a house in Katy – this isn’t happening. HEB had stocked shelves Yesterday including paper towels & TP. You’re spreading misinformation.
We live in Katy, and have experienced NONE of what was mentioned above. Everything has been extremely organized and orderly, and supplies are readily available at our HEB.
I work in Katy and HEB was out of everything last week. Walmart was the same way. I’m still searching for things for my business.
Not sure what part of Katy but where my daughter lives this is happening
NOT MISINFORMATION
Part of a conversation with my daughter in Katy near Clay and Greenhouse road:
Really we are allowed to go to the grocery stores but everyone is panicking. So stores cant stay stocked making it hard on us that just buy what we need for now, Because they are talking about how people aren’t taking shelter in home warnings seriously and police enforcement. Like Walmart closes at 8 here now and there was police and people yelling and screaming trying to rush past into the store and getting arrested.
Can only buy one gallon of milk at a time if you can even find it having to buy from gas stations
Eggs were 5 dollars. 4 cases of water was almost 30 bucks.
The treatment, if effective, is not widely available to consumers. The five-minute testing apparatus is not widely available to health practitioners. As it ramps up, expect that the supply chain is going to be directed toward the major outbreaks, like NYC, NO, and Seattle. Meanwhile, the virus is already here. People have ample reason to worry; our community will suffer and is indeed likely to suffer more than just from infections. We can’t pretend this isn’t happening. Hunker down with washed hands and get ready for a wild ride.
Are you aware that hydroxychloroquine sulfate is a widely used drug and on the shelf in most pharmacies, same with the Zithromax Z-Pak? These are the two drugs that when used together are having great results. Sure, might be a higher demand but that is being taken care of. Israel alone is giving us 10 MILLION doses of the hydroxychloroquine sulfate.
From WebMD: Hydroxychloroquine is used to prevent or treat malaria infections caused by mosquito bites. It does not work against certain types of malaria (chloroquine-resistant). The United States Center for Disease Control provides updated guidelines and travel recommendations for the prevention and treatment of malaria in different parts of the world. Discuss the most recent information with your doctor before traveling to areas where malaria occurs.
This medication is also used, usually with other medications, to treat certain auto-immune diseases (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis) when other medications have not worked or cannot be used. It belongs to a class of medications known as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). It can reduce skin problems in lupus and prevent swelling/pain in arthritis, though it is not known exactly how the drug works.
People need to social distance themselves,wash hands,stop touching your face,this is not the time to go shopping bc your bored..stay home,..do not go outside your home area unless it’s really necessary, dont visit other family members and STOP WAITING for your county to make the call,DO IT YOURSELF,BE RESPONSIBLY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS
Amen ?
Doesn’t work if you shelter in place but others don’t, it has to be a coordinated effort.
You’re assuming everyone has the same sense of social responsibility you do. They don’t. Unless our county officials make the call and enforce it, people will continue with their same self-centered activities. This confirmed infection count is just the tip of the iceberg.
If you think a county offical telling ppl to shelter in place is going to stop alot of ppl from doing things your not suppose to ,you need to wake up..whatever is the case number confirmed is ,you better times that by 10,then those cases start showing in around 2 wks later,meanwhile the infected rate doubles every 4 days
Why hasn’t this town issued a stay at home order yet?
If people not going to take responsibility for their own protection. Do you think our local governments can protect these people. Look at Washington On The Brazos this weekend. People everywhere. You are responsible for your own actions
Same reason we have seatbelt laws, some people are selfish and/or not the brightest bulb in the box and need to have “consequences” for their actions before they protect themselves and others.
Sadly your right,the Governor asked all of Texas to do their part for 14 days ,but sadly ppl think it’s a vacation time…