District F Coronavirus Update – 04/22/20 (Governor Abbott’s Executive Orders, Judge Hidalgo’s Mask Order, Food Pantry Donations)

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

On Friday, April 17th, Governor Abbott issued 3 Executive Orders:

Establish the Strike Force to Open Texas
- More information on the Strike Force can be found here.
Establishing guidelines for the safe, strategic reopening of select services and activities
- A temporary “Retail-To-Go” model will be enacted beginning April 24th. Under this model, reopened establishments are required to deliver items to customer’s cars, homes, or other locations to minimize contact.
- All schools will remain closed through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Teachers may go into the classroom for video instruction, to perform administrative duties, and to clean out their classrooms.
- State parks are to reopen beginning Monday, April 20th with strict guidelines to reduce transmission of COVID-19 – including requiring visitors to wear face coverings, maintain a six-foot distance from individuals outside of their party, and prohibit the gathering of groups larger than five.
Loosen restrictions on surgeries from April 22nd to May 8th

More regarding the reopening of Texas will be announced on Monday, April 27th.

Today, Mayor Turner recapped some of the latest developments regarding the City’s response to the coronavirus pandemic:

As of 4/21/20, there were a total of 2,948 confirmed cases and 34 deaths in Houston.
Marvin Odum has been selected as the City of Houston’s COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Czar
The $400m that the City has received from the federal CARES Act currently does not allow us to spend the money on anything that is not directly related to COVID-19. We are asking the federal government to grant us the flexibility to utilize those dollars for things such as rental assistance and our budget gap that is a consequence of COVID-19.
METROLift is partnering with the City of Houston to deliver groceries to families in need.
Tomorrow is the start of the Take Me To Your Table campaign, to encourage Houstonians to support local restaurants.
In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, The City of Houston has released the Houston Climate Action Plan.
The City of Houston has launched a domestic violence awareness campaign.

Here were the notable Agenda items passed at Council:

Item #13 & #15 – Emergency purchases of masks related to COVID-19 for the Houston Fire Department and Houston Police Department
Item #14 – Emergency purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) related to COVID-19 for the Houston Fire Department and Houston Police Department
Item #16 – Emergency purchase of Rental and Installation of Covered Structures for COVID-19 Testing Sites
Item #21 – Ordinance approving and authorizing the City of Houston to submit the 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan and the 2020 Annual Action Plan to the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
- Funding priorities include affordable home development, supportive services, infrastructure/neighborhood facilities, and economic development.
Item #24 – Ordinance adopting the City of Houston Hurricane Harvey Small Rental Program Guidelines for Hurricane Harvey Disaster Recovery
- The HRSR Program aims to increase the affordable rental housing stock (defined for this purpose as individual buildings with no more than seven residential units) through infill development of new affordable small rental properties.

During the pop-off session, Council Member Thomas raised awareness of National Volunteer Week and the need for donations to food pantries in District F. She also thanked her colleagues for supporting the proposal for short-term rental assistance that she is currently spear-heading with Council Member Pollard.

CLICK BELOW TO VIEW CM THOMAS’S REMARKS

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has issued a county-wide order for everyone to wear facial coverings (nose and mouth) in public settings for 30 days beginning Monday, April 27th. The peak of the coronavirus is still to come and we must not let up on cautionary measures, or else our sacrifices up to this point will have been in vain. We will be able to return to normalcy quicker if these measures are practiced in earnest.

Exceptions
- Children under 10
- Those with health and mental health conditions that would be exacerbated by a facial covering.
- Those who are exercising alone, eating alone, or driving.
Where do you get a facial covering?
- You can use an old t-shirt, bandana, scarf, and other fabric in your house.
- You may also order masks from local mask makers that we are highlighting below (in “THE PEOPLE’S CHAMP” section)
- Please do not wear N95 and medical-grade masks
- Mayor Turner will announce on Thursday a plan to distribute 70,000 masks to vulnerable communities.
There is a $1,000 fine associated with this order.

FOOD PANTRY LIST

(Click on the tabs of the spreadsheet for
English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Arabic)

Our office would like to thank James Harden and his charitable organization, 3 The Harden Way, for providing groceries for 5,000 families in Houston. The West Houston Assistance Ministries is the partner chosen for the southwest area. Please contact them for more information.

Our office would like to thank Walgreens for opening the first COVID-19 testing site in District F!

LOCATION: 14531 Westheimer RD, 77082 (an old Walgreens building at Westheimer and Highway 6)
DATE: Beginning Friday, April 17th, 2020

Drive-thru
- Open 7 days a week 9am-5pm
- First come, first served
- Rapid results: several hours or up to 1-2 days
- Free to everyone eligible, including the uninsured
VISIT THEIR WEBSITE FIRST TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY
- https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/covid19/testing?ban=covid_testing
- Currently, first responders, healthcare workers with symptoms, and seniors with symptoms are prioritized, as requested by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
- If it is recommended that you do not get tested here, please call the Health Department’s COVID-19 call center at (832) 393-4220 to be screened and directed to one of the City’s sites. The 2 City testing sites continue to be open to everyone and are conducting 500 tests each per day. These sites are to supplement private testing and testing that you can receive through your healthcare provider.

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CIP PROJECT: CHELFORD CITY DIVERSION PACKAGE #1

Public Works has provided an update regarding the construction on this project along Westpark Dr. Thank you to Jeff Baker of Super Neighborhood 17 for helping to inform residents as well.

Construction work expanded West of S. Dairy Ashford, Effective Friday, April 10th
- Westbound traffic on Westpark is being routed to the south lanes, much the same as they are through Shadowlake. Several intersections will be under construction at once (between Ashfield and Ashloch), but north and southbound traffic on those streets will not be impeded. Please view the map of the impacted area.
Traffic Signal Changes, Effective Monday April 14th
- At the corner of Westpark and West Houston Center, there are signal changes that impact left turns, in an effort to alleviate traffic.

SIDEWALK REPAIR: HAZY PARK TO WEST SIDE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL
ANTICIPATED COMPLETION: MAY 8TH, 2020

Please be advised that sidewalk repair is currently taking place at this location and is expected to be completed on May 8th.

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CIP PROJECT: BRIARMEADOW AREA DRAINAGE AND PAVING IMPROVEMENTS

A virtual public meeting was held by Public Works on Tuesday, April 21st. We will post the video and notes from the Q&A section as soon as we receive them from Public Works.

Please be advised that construction on this CIP project began on April 14, 2020 and is anticipated to be completed in March 2022. For more information, refer to this FAQ.

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DEMOLITION OF THE ALIEF COMMUNITY CENTER HAS BEGUN. We will continue to relay any updates.

To reserve a brick, please use this form.

WE WILL END BRICK RESERVATIONS AT THE END OF THIS WEEK.

THE PEOPLE’S CHAMP

On Wednesday, April 15th, Pastor Hernan Castano and members of Rios De Aceite (Rivers of Oil Church) in Alief gave food to over 200 families. We will add them to our Food Pantry List and make an announcement as soon as they are ready to give away more food. Please support Pastor Castano and his church’s efforts if you can.