Dr. John Hellerstedt - the Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services - is briefing state lawmakers right now on the state's preparedness for the potential spread of the Coronavirus. #txlege
He says DSHS is the lead agency on this right now. When asked about what has been done to prepare, Hellderstdt said they are amping up testing capabilities and opening lines of communications between agencies and other states.
Hellerstedt said right now Texas is at the point that there's no evidence of confirmed "community-spread" COVID-19 cases, like there are in places like Washington state.
He said there are testing kits in a couple cities across the state -- including Austin. He said the Austin lab can currently test about 10 and 20 samples a day.
Hellerstedt says there will still be "local control" as this continues to unfold, which means local health officials will be making all of the key decisions on what to close and when.
When asked if Texas currently has adequate testing available to deal with the potential spread, Hellerstedt said "yes, I do."
Overall, Hellerstedt has been stressing that the state's preparedness right now relies very largely on people washing their hands and isolating themselves when they are sick.
In terms of vulnerable populations, Hellerstedt says older people, and people with co-morbidities (folks with hypertension especially) are most at risk of developing serious complications as a result of COVID-19.
When asked if the state is going to help hospitals buy masks, etc., Hellerstedt said it's up to hospitals to use their own supply of materials to meet the needs of the potential spread of the Coronavirus.
Hellerstedt said he believes hospitals in the state will be able to handle "surges" of intake from people who may be infected, because they are licensed and have protocols in place for this.
