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COVID-19

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update – March 16, 2020

Dear Friends,
Over the past several days, I’ve been working with leaders at a state and local level to limit the spread of COVID-19. There are new developments daily, and I wanted to provide you with information that may be helpful as we navigate the evolving impact of this pandemic.

Your Safety

First, we encourage you to make the health of you, your family and our community the top priority. This means following basic recommendations to prevent the spread.
  • Wash your hands frequently, use hand sanitizer. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds using soap.
  • Don’t touch your face, and sneeze or cough responsibly
  • Know the symptoms of COVID-19 (dry cough, fever, fatigue)
  • If possible, self-isolate you and your family. This means only leaving your home for essentials and practice social distancing by maintaining a distance 6 feet between you and others. If you are not able to self-isolate, please practice social distancing.
  • Be prepared for business, school and other closings for eight weeks or more. And prepare for schools to be closed for the remainder of the school year. While this will be decided on a district-by-district basis, we should all start making plans if Dallas ISD and HPISD close. Currently, Dallas ISD is closed indefinitely.
These recommendations are designed to reduce widespread outbreak and are for the benefit of our entire community. Our goal is to keep our citizens as healthy as possible, and for those who are impacted to receive the highest quality of medical care. If we work together, we will achieve this goal.

• • •

Additionally, measures are being implemented to mitigate the effect of the outbreak in different sectors of our society.

New Restrictions

Today, Mayor Eric Johnson announced new restrictions to limit the virus spread:
  • No community gatherings of more than 50 people
  • A prohibition on dine-in service from restaurants
  • The closure of bars, lounges, taverns, private clubs, gyms, health studios, theaters and commercial amusement facilities

Education

Frequent communication is continuing between leaders like TX Education Commissioner Mike Morath & our local leaders like Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and HPISD Superintendent Tom Trigg. The decision of school closures is made at the local level, and everyone involved is keeping the safety and health of our community at the forefront. Updates on school closures can be found on the Dallas ISD website and the Highland Park ISD website.
Governor Abbott announced that the state is waiving STAAR testing requirements for this year, a decision I strongly support.
Several online learning services are waiving fees to provide free content to students who are home from schools, including Scholastic and BrainPop.

COVID-19 Information

Dallas County currently has 19 cases of COVID-19, with 5 cases identified within the past 24 hours.
Governor Abbott has stated that experts predict the number of COVID-19 cases to go up “exponentially” in the coming days as testing is increased. He also stated that by the end of this week that a test will be available for anyone who needs it.
Authorities are working together to make testing for COVID-19 more readily available. Parkland Hospital will roll out drive-thru testing today for certain high-risk people. You will need a doctor’s order to receive a test.
The Governor is recommending that people who have private insurance use their primary care physician to order a test.
Health care workers will be tested on a daily basis.
If you feel that you may have COVID-19 and meet the criteria for being at risk, the CDC website outlines how to go about the testing process.

Other Developments

In issuing a statewide emergency over COVID-19, Governor Abbott has waived certain restrictions and granted authority to the state to direct resources where they’re needed most.
Governor Abbott also granted DPS the authority to extend the expiration of a Texas driver’s license, identification card or election identification certificate for the duration of the declaration of State of Disaster.
Private industries in TX are taking steps to accommodate this changing environment, including increasing bandwidth capabilities for the many workers now working from home.
AT&T is offering free conference calls and video conferencing with Cisco Webex Meetings through AT&T for 90 days to businesses, universities and schools.

Resources

Here are a few sites where you can find timely and relevant information:
Texas Dept. Of Health & Humans Services: https://hhs.texas.gov/services/health/coronavirus-covid-19
I know that as we all make major adjustments to this ‘new normal’ there will still be uncomfortable uncertainty. But I’m inspired by the resiliency of our community, and the way we are choosing to support each other. This will affect all of us in different ways, but I’m proud of the kindness and generosity of the people in HD 108. We will get through this together.
I will send further updates and information as needed. In the meantime, should you have questions or concerns, please feel free to reply to this email or call us at (469) 554-0428.
Sincerely,
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