COVID19 Tests were stolen from Parkland Hospital delaying both testing and results for many in South Dallas.
This has been confirmed to NBC News that thieves struck their COVID19 testing site overnight, stealing both equipment and supplies.
The testing site at The Salvation Army’s Pleasant Grove Corps Community Center at 8341 Elam Road, which is maintained and managed by the Parkland Health & Hospital System, was to open for the first time Monday after moving from the Inspired vision Compassion Center over the weekend.
The guidelines include attendance, prevention, and mitigation guidance.
ATTENDANCE
It’s what everyone already expected. Students are still required to attend 90% of the course days to receive credit. Parents can choose if they want their child to attend online or on-campus learning. If a student is unable to attend online, the school must provide daily on-campus learning. A student wanting to attend online is allowed to enroll in another school if the original school can not provide an online option.
Schools may limit access to on-campus instruction to those who are able to learn online. This is on a temporary basis, but is sure to impact the Dallas ISD Calendar.
PREVENTION
Schools are required to screen any adult that enters their building. Screening per the Texas Education Agency means checking temperature and asking a “Yes or No” question for COVID-19 symptoms at a minimum.
The school may also screen students if they want. If someone has a temperature of above 100F or shows COVID-19 symptoms, that individual is presumed to have COVID-19. They will be immediately isolated.
In order to return to back on campus the individual must remain at home for 10 days minimum and 3 days after their fever has passed (without the use of medication), they must also have had an improvement in COVID symptoms. Alternatively they may also show a medical professional’s note clearing the individual, or two separate confirmations (at least 24 hours apart) that they are free of COVID. Locations for these confirmation tests are found at https://tdem.texas.gov/covid-19/.
If someone tested positive for COVID-19 they must notify the Dallas ISD school. The school must close off and disinfect areas heavily used by the individual.
MITIGATION
According to the Texas Education Agency, hand sanitizer should be everywhere. Every entrance, every classroom, and every bus should have it. People are encouraged to use it at least two times a day.
Schools should also increase airflow by opening windows. The should be allowing outside air to circulate the building and buses.
Texas Education Agency also requires schools to comply with Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order regarding mask usage. Everyone will have to wear some sort of mask (TEA accepts the use of non-medical masks or mere cloth) to cover their mouth and nose at all times (excluding athletic activities and eating).
Whenever possible people should be 6 feet apart. Campuses must plan for entry, exit, and transition procedures that reduce large groups. Teacher, staff, and student meetings should be banned or less frequent. Extracurricular activities are allowed to continue at district’s discretion.
According to Hinojosa the problem isn’t so much the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) as much as it is the implementations of the procedures that the Texas Education Agency recommends. “If you have a mask on can you be closer than 6 feet? Initially we thought “yes”, but now we are hearing “no”. So there are a lot of complexities about how we keep students and employees safe in this process”.
Further details about how Dallas ISD would reopen, will be addressed in a board meeting on July 23rd. Until then, nothing is set in stone for the Dallas ISD Calendar.
Texas Education Agency
The guidelines released by TEA can be found here. It is expected that these standards may go through multiple evolutions between now and the start of the school year.
Hot hits 100°F today in DFW Weather. Per the National Weather Service the Dallas-Fort Worth are can expect their first 100°F degree day of the year today.
We are expected to have multiple days ahead above 90 – which is the temperature used to measure “Extreme Heat.”
Extreme heat means your body will work extra hard to maintain normal temperature. That can lead to death. Heat is responsible for the highest number of annual deaths among all weather-related hazards. Please keep in mind that Extreme heat can occur quickly and without warning. Older adults, children, and sick or overweight individuals are at greater risk from extreme heat conditions.
IF YOU ARE UNDER AN EXTREME HEAT WARNING:
Find air conditioning.
Avoid strenuous activities.
Wear light clothing.
Check on family members and neighbors.
Drink plenty of fluids.
Watch for heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Never leave people or pets in a closed car.
HOW TO STAY SAFE WHEN EXTREME HEAT THREATENS
Prepare NOW
Find places in your community where you can go to get cool.
Keep your home cool:
Cover windows with drapes or shades.
Weather-strip doors and windows.
Use window reflectors, such as aluminum foil-covered cardboard, to reflect heat back outside.
Add insulation to keep the heat out.
Use attic fans to clear hot air.
Install window air conditioners and insulate around them.
Learn to recognize the signs of heat-related illness.
Be Safe DURING
Never leave a child, adult or animal alone inside a vehicle on a warm day.
Find places with air conditioning. Libraries, shopping malls and community centers can provide a cool place to take a break from the heat.
If you’re outside, find shade. Wear a hat wide enough to protect your face.
Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated. If you or someone you care for is on a special diet, ask a doctor how best to accommodate it.
Do not use electric fans when the temperature outside is more than 95 degrees, as it could increase the risk of heat-related illness. Fans create air flow and a false sense of comfort, but do not reduce body temperature.
Avoid high-energy activities.
Check yourself, family members and neighbors for signs of heat-related illness.
More 100°F Facts
Given the suggestion to curtail activity, Other Side Dallas has weather trivia you can enjoy over your ice cold drink. Dallas-Fort Worth experiences eighteen (18) days of 100°F heat annually. The average date for a first 100°F temperature is July 1. The last date is August 26.
In 1911, the Dallas-Fort Worth area experienced their first triple digit day on March 9. These big temperature days can happen late in the year too like on October 3, 1951. In 2011, we had 71 triple digit days.
The new COVID19 cases may be the tip of the iceberg. In Houston, the busiest hospitals are increasingly telling emergency responders they cannot safely accept new patients as hundreds of coronavirus patients crowd emergency rooms, and hospitals scramble to open more intensive care space.
Houston hospitals have been forced to treat hundreds of COVID-19 patients in their emergency rooms — sometimes for several hours or multiple days — as they scramble to open additional intensive care beds for the wave of seriously ill people streaming through their doors. The increase in ambulance diversions, coupled with the spike in patients being held indefinitely in emergency rooms, are the latest indicators that Houston hospitals are straining to keep up with a surge of new coronavirus patients.
Last week, ProPublica reported that Houston hospitals were running out of COVDI!9 treatment medications. Locally, there are two similar unconfirmed reports from separate medical systems.
John Cornyn came out swinging in Facebook ads against MJ Hegar prior to their Tuesday, July 14 run off. It appears Cornyn is semi-actively supporting Royce West who is business partners with major Trump donor, Brint Ryan. Some have asserted Cornyn would rather face West as an easier candidate to beat.
The post by the GOP nominee for US Senate and attacks by Royce West seem to be putting Hegar on the defensive. She has had to repeatedly respond to issues about voting in the 2016 Republican primary and that her points about West’s financial dealings are racist.
John Cornyn
US Senator John Cornyn continues to outpace both MJ Hegar and Royce West in multiple polls showing gaps of between 8 and 13. National and Texas Democrats say Texas is in play, but it isn’t clear how much yet.
Tuesday, July 14, is the runoff election date to vote in the Democratic primary to determine which candidate will face John Cornyn in November. You can look up your precinct voting information via Dallas County elections.
Hinojosa was interviewed on MSNBC and left open the possibility of “moving it to the spring, but we’ll have to wait and see.” He also said he has serious doubts “that we can pull that off.”
Canceling the fall sport would be a major step for a Texas school district. One of the first things people learn up on moving to Texas are there were originally two sports: football and spring football.
On Wednesday, UIL released new guidelines governing summer high school workouts which are expected to resume on Monday. Restrictions include mandatory masks with limited exceptions.
On other classroom scheduling, Hinojosa says he’s now having questions about whether in-school classes can begin on August 17th, as planned.
More Football
It has yet to be determined if the annual Texas-OU game will continue at the Cotton Bowl. The decades long rivalry may be in jeopardy though due to coronavirus as the State Fair of Texas has cancelled its annual event that is home to the Fair Park pigskin game.
American Airlines was hit by articles in the New York Times and a tweet by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley recently over their lack of social distancing on flights. American Airlines, based in the Dallas-Fort Worth region was highlighted as refusing to allow an elderly couple to move to an empty emergency exit.
Per the article, a June 30 flight on American from Dallas to Newark included Joy Gonzalez, an aviation engineer based in Seattle. She found herself seated at a window with two older passengers beside her in the middle and aisle seats. In order to gain more social distance, she and the aisle passenger both moved to seats behind them where two rows were empty. But before takeoff, a flight attendant ordered them back to the ticketed seats, telling them they had not paid for those exit row seats, which are more expensive.
A second flight attendant listened to Ms. Gonzalez’s request, consulted with the other attendants and gave her two options: Take your assigned seat or return to the gate and pay for the exit row. As the flight was on the verge of departing, she sat down.
American Airlines and COVID19 Response
The airline did receive more than $5B in federal aid for COVID19 per their own newsroom. The federal aid package included $4.1 billion in direct support and another $1.7 billion as a 1% loan which 75% of could be converted into a grant.
Other Side Dallas will continue to report on other local employers and their actions in light of COVID19.
Sick TEA says Dallas Schools to open in August 2020. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) says schools must open their physical doors in August, unless Abbott orders a closure or if there is “a confirmed case on campus.”
Readers should note that this guidance was issued by employees working from home.
TEA has also been keeping dollars meant for local jurisdictions in Austin. The guidance for parents, students, and administrators is here and “Changes to the public health situation over the course of the summer may necessitate changes to this guidance.” Nonetheless they are plowing forward with a bad plan and federal dollars in their backpocket.
Dallas Schools Were Slow To Close In March
Despite rising cases of COVID19 and several on Dallas ISD campuses the district administration was slow to close schools prior to Spring Break – waiting until March 16, 2020 to make the decision.
Per a statement from the State Fair of Texas, the Board of Directors has voted to cancel the 2020 State Fair of Texas. After extensive consideration of the current landscape related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the health and safety of all fairgoers and overall community.
“This was an extremely tough decision. The health and safety of all involved has remained our top priority throughout the decision-making process,” said Gina Norris, board chair for the State Fair of Texas. “One of the greatest aspects of the Fair is welcoming each and every person who passes through our gates with smiles and open arms. In the current climate of COVID-19, there is no feasible way for the Fair to put proper precautions in place while maintaining the Fair environment you know and love. While we cannot predict what the COVID-19 pandemic will look like in September, the recent surge in positive cases is troubling for all of North Texas. The safest and most responsible decision we could make for all involved at this point in our 134-year history is to take a hiatus for the 2020 season.”
Corny Dogs At Football
The NCAA, the respective conferences, and participating universities – the University of Texas & University of Oklahoma and Prairie View A&M University & Grambling State University will make decisions regarding scheduled football games at a later date. They would still occur at Cotton Bowl Stadium should they be played.
This will be the first time since World War II that the State Fair of Texas has not opened. The State Fair of Texas has previously canceled Fairs because of World War I (1918), planning for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition and 1937 Pan American Exposition at Fair Park (1935 – 1937), and World War II (1942 – 1945).
The 2021 State Fair of Texas is scheduled to run Friday, September 24 through Sunday, October 17 in historic Fair Park.
Texas reported 5000 new COVID19 cases. This is a single day-high for new coronavirus cases as of Tuesday and reached a new all-time high of hospitalized COVID-19 patients for tweve straight days.
This includes 1000 new Dallas cases and almost a dozen new deaths.
Gov. Greg Abbott had previewed the new single-day high during television interviews Tuesday afternoon before DSHS released specific figures.
The previous single-day high was 4,430 cases on Saturday. Since last Wednesday, the Texas Department of State Health Services has reported over 3,000 new cases each day, with 3,866 on Sunday and 3,280 on Monday. At least 2,192 deaths have been reported through Monday.
