Hidalgo urges vigilance as more Houston-area coronavirus cases expected

Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo, shown here at a news conference last month, urged local residents Thursday to continue taking precautions after an elderly Fort Bend County man tested positive for coronavirus. Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo, shown here at a news conference last month, urged local residents Thursday to continue taking precautions after an elderly Fort Bend County man tested positive for coronavirus. Photo: Marie D. De Jesús, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Photo: Marie D. De Jesús, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Hidalgo urges vigilance as more Houston-area coronavirus cases expected 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday urged residents to continue taking precautions after an elderly Fort Bend County man tested positive for coronavirus and health officials expect more cases in the Houston area.

“Right now, we know the origins of this one case,” Hidalgo said. “We have other cases we are testing. Eventually, the reality of it is one of them is going to come back positive at some point.”

There have been no confirmed cases yet in Harris County, Hidalgo said. Officials announced Wednesday a 70-year-old man in Fort Bend County tested positive, the first non-imported case in Texas. The test has been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control for confirmation. The man recently had traveled abroad and was in stable condition.

Hidalgo implored sick employees to stay home from work if they are able, keep ill children out of school and asked employers to prepare for disruptions caused by the pneumonia-like virus, which originated in China and since has spread to more than 60 countries.

Harris County officials held an exercise at the emergency operations center Thursday to prepare for a possible coronavirus outbreak. Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health, said his epidemiologists have been looking for signs of the virus locally for more than two months.

The present risk to the public is low, Shah said. He said the county is prepared for additional cases.

Dr. David Persse of the Houston Health Department said local authorities have a limited ability to process tests for coronavirus. He asked health professionals to refrain from testing residents without a legitimate reason to believe they could have contracted the disease.

“There will be a prioritization scheme for folks who have no epidemiologic link: they have no travel, they haven’t been around anyone who is sick. They’re not sick; they’re just scared,” Persse said. “We don’t have the capacity to do all the testing.”

zach.despart@chron.com