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Weekly Update:
Tuesday, May 26 – Friday, May 29
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“Where the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.” – Hippocrates
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Up Comming Events to Mark your Calendar
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Click on the maps below to see where your service industries are located in town! Want your local business to be featured in my next newsletter? Send an email to carrie.smith@senate.texas.gov with information about your business and I will make sure that it is in the next newsletter!
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Featured Small Businesses:
Day 1 Bags
Did you know that we have over 2,500 children in foster care just in our region of Texas? Unfortunately, our region ranks #2 in foster children in Texas, right behind the Dallas Fort Worth region. Every 2 minutes, a new child enters the foster care system in the United States. The sad fact is these numbers are on the rise with COVID-19 pandemic with many families under significant stress.
We cannot prevent child abuse from happening, but we can provide a sense of dignity to children entering the foster system during this traumatic and isolated time. Day 1 Bags has provided over 30,000 brand new duffel bags or backpacks to foster children in the past 3 years. My mission is to ensure no child receives a trash bag to carry their belongings from home to home. No one deserves their treasures in a garbage bag. I saw this with my own siblings when they entered our home. It is not acceptable! May is Foster Care Awareness Month and you can help. Donate a tax-deductible gift to Day 1 Bags emergency fund now until the end of May and we will make sure every child does not get a trash bag as luggage. Rest assured – 100% of your financial donation goes to the child. Donation Link – https://www.thebiggivesa.org/organizations/one-simple-wish-day-1-bags
Email: day1bags@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/day1bags
Please help Carmelo’s in Dripping Springs! Thank you!
“Off The Clock” in New Braunfels is open for business! (Drive-thru only)
Dr. John Bec – Solo private practice owner at Alamo Dental Health, San Antonio, TX.
Curley Chiropractic, LLC. 1312 E. Common St ste 407 New Braunfels. 830-620-0959. www.curleychiro.com. Open for business. Accepting New Patients. We accept most major medical ins including Medicare.
Wimberley Pet Sitting is available to watch your pets as we all get ready to get out of the house again. Visit wimberleypetsitting.com to set up an appointment, we would love to meet your fur family!
Dr. Cassandra Elkins DDS-Pediatric Dentist in SA for over 25 years.
A Texas Monthly selected Super Dentist for the last 10 years.
Offices in the Medical Center on Huebner Road and in NW San Antonio on Culebra Road. Contact information – www.whereisdrcasey.com 210-268-0414
Alina Acebo Kulczycki PT, DPT. Owner Therapist – Boutique Bodyworks – Please click on this link: www.boutiquebodyworks.com to learn about my small private practice for physical therapy, pilates, fitness, and nutrition. I see only one person at a time and practice infection and droplet control precautions and I accept Medicare otherwise I’m a cash-based only practice. Thank you! 210.816.1414 tel
Elizabeth Marsh OTR, MS, MOT, Owner — Pediatric Therapy Specialists, LLC, offers a wide variety of therapy services for children of all ages. Our adept therapists engage children in a playful atmosphere promoting improvements in strength and coordination, communication, mobility, social-emotional development, and sensory processing. We are locally owned and therapists operated and are located in NW San Antonio and Schertz. We are open and accepting new patients for occupational, speech, feeding, and physical therapies. We also offer telehealth services for pediatric therapy. • 4600 Lockhill Selma Road, Suite 101 | San Antonio, Texas 78249 p (210) 408-7300 | f (210) 408-7303 • 5700 Schertz Parkway Schertz, Texas 78154 p (210) 233-1790 | f (210) 233-1738 http://www.pedts.com
Catrina’s Interior – WE ARE OPEN FOR SHOPPING BY APPOINTMENT!
In line with recommendations from public health professionals as well as local, state and federal officials, we want to keep our communities safe and healthy. Our Custom Furniture Store and Interior Design Center is now open for shopping by appointment. Call us today to schedule your private in-store visit. We provide free masks and hand sanitizer at the entrance. In-home design consultations can also be reserved and our furniture delivery services continue to operate safely.
Call today for special deals: 830-331-9010
Email: Info@CatrinasInteriors.com |
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Huth Avian Services– Bird Surveys and Poultry Consultations. (Jesse Huth) I am a Central Texas avian consultant who covers all of the Hill Country; I have an M.S. in Poultry Science and over 20 years of experience as a local birdwatcher. I am currently scheduling spring bird surveys for folks with Wildlife Management Tax Exemptions or anyone who needs to know what birds are on their property. If you recently got some new chickens, or just have questions about raising your flock and keeping them healthy, I am here to help. I can do phone/video consultations, or coop visits while practicing proper biosecurity against both human and poultry diseases. Contact www.HuthAvian.com or call Jesse Huth at (979) 422-7061
Dancing Bear and Gruene Gardens
1632 Hunter Road New Braunfels, Texas 78130 We will open Friday at 11:00 – With the 25% capacity limits: Please be patient, respectful of others, don’t come in if your sick, and don’t come in if your not “shopping”! Please continue to call our cell phones if you prefer a curbside pick up! We understand everyone is not ready to be social yet so do what makes you comfortable! Beth 830-570-0054 Oscar 210-324-9149 Leave a message ~ We will get back to you ASAP!
*Our shops at Resolute Health Hospital at 555 Creekside Way, Will remain closed a bit longer! We are happy to assist with purchases through our Gruene shops! Don’t forget Gifts for: Teachers Appreciation, Graduates, Nurses Day May 5th, Mothers Day is May 10th
Mind Works — At Mind Works, we know that you want to be an informed and equipped parent. In order to do that, you need help with your children. The problem is that parents can find it difficult to understand or know how to resolve certain behavioral issues, which makes you ask, “Where did I go wrong”? We believe our children deserve a reprieve from frustration, disappointment, and the freedom to live a happy and healthy life. As behavioral and physical health providers, Mind Works understands the stigma that keeps the majority of our Texas children from getting the help they need, which is why we have helped thousands of Texas children and families. So, schedule now: Step 1 — Call (210) 366-3700, Step 2 – Complete the Intake paperwork, Step 3 – Meet your child’s provider. Call today — (210) 366-3700
5700 Schertz Parkway Ste. 150 | Schertz, TX 78154 (210) 366-3700 | Fax: 210-265-1442 info@mindworkstx.com https://mindworkstx.com/
SYNERGY HomeCare of Central Austin
7500 Rialto Blvd, Bldg 1, STE 250 Austin, TX 78735 512.318.2348
We provide care for those who need assistance – through most of the Austin area. We provide services in-home and in rehabilitation, long term care, skilled nursing, and independent living communities. This includes high-risk pregnancy, post-surgery, daily living tasks, oncology care, dialysis care, dementia, respite for family caregivers, hospice and more. Our services include companionship, transportation, errands, cooking, light housekeeping, and personal care. We are open for business and up to date on the CDC and WHO recommendations to keep everyone safe through these challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please give us a call if there is something we can help you with. https://www.synergyhomecare.com/
Please help Assemblage Contemporary Craftsman Gallery in downtown Buda at the Buda Mill & Grain!
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Texas
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COVID-19 Texas Statistics
According to DSHS our total confirmed cases in Texas is 61,006 with 1,626 deaths, and 40,068 recoveries. They have completed 1,027,449 and 96,719 antibody tests.
- 1,701 lab confirmed COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in Texas.
- 230 of 254 counties have at least one confirmed case.
Cases in SD 25:
- Bexar County now has 2,636 confirmed cases, 72 deaths, and 1,368 recoveries.
- Travis County now has 3,186 confirmed cases, with 93 deaths, and 1,134 recoveries.
- Comal County has 94 confirmed cases, 7 deaths, and 67 recoveries.
- Hays County is reporting 329 confirmed cases, 4 deaths, with 181 recoveries.
- Kendall County is reporting 28 confirmed cases, 23 recoveries.
- Guadalupe County is reporting 139 confirmed cases with 121 recoveries.
- Totals: 6,412 confirmed cases, 176 deaths, and 2,894 recoveries.
Texas News (May 26th):
- Governor Greg Abbott today issued a proclamation expanding additional services and activities that can open under Phase II of the state’s plan to safely and strategically open. With this proclamation, water parks, recreational sport programs for adults, driver education programs, and food-court dining areas within shopping malls can begin operations with limited occupancy or regulations to protect the health and safety of Texans.
- Beginning Friday, May 29th, water parks can open but must limit their occupancy to 25% of normal operating limits. Components of these water parks that have video arcades must remain closed.
- Starting Sunday, May 31st, recreational sports programs for adults can resume, but games and similar competitions may not begin until June 15th.
- Driver education programs can resume operations immediately.
- Food-court dining areas within shopping malls can also immediately resume operations, but malls are encouraged to designate one or more individuals who are responsible for ensuring health and safety practices are followed, including: limiting tables to six individuals; maintaining a six-feet distance between individuals sitting at different tables; cleaning and disinfecting tables between uses; and ensuring no condiments or other items are left on tables between customer uses.
- Dallas considering raising property taxes: Tomorrow, Dallas council considers a resolution that could raise property taxes 8%. It votes on asking county to model what an 8% hike looks like. Dallas cited the “disaster declaration” as authority to raise taxes over the state caps.
- Texas state parks will accept new reservations for overnight camping starting Wednesday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said.
- The Secretary of State’s office today issued a guidance document on minimum health protocols election officials and voters should take, with July races approaching & November on the horizon. You can view the checklist here: https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/forms/health-protocols-for-voters.pdf
- Governor Greg Abbott will provide an update on surge response efforts on Wednesday, May 27th at 2:00 PM in Amarillo.
Texas News (May 27th):
- Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) today announced $3.6 million in funding for nursing facilities to purchase tablets, webcams, and headphones to connect residents with their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic. Texas is encouraging nursing facility providers to submit applications to HHSC to receive up to $3,000 in federal funding per facility for purchasing communication technology devices.
- The Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a lack of immunity to the new coronavirus does not qualify a voter to apply for a mail-in ballot. In the latest twist in the legal fight over voting by mail during the coronavirus pandemic, the court agreed with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that the risk of contracting the virus alone does not meet the state’s qualifications for voting by mail.
- The state revenue index, a key measure of the Texas service sector devised by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, came in at negative 28.1 this month, pointing to continued steep contraction despite recent moves to allow businesses to start reopening. The figure for May represents significant improvement from March and April — when the index registered negative 66.6 and negative 65.3, respectively — but it’s still a steeper decline than any pre-pandemic month on record since collection of the data began in 2007.
- Last week, three of the state’s top elected officials called for some agencies to reduce their budgets by 5 percent. Now, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is saying he’ll do even better, announcing plans to cut the Texas Department of Agriculture’s budget by 10 percent.
- The Spurs Give and Tim Duncan Foundation have announced a $200,000 donation to the San Antonio Food Bank, in an effort to help the growing need for local families during the coronavirus pandemic. The donation will allow the food bank to deliver more than 25,000 meals over the next five weeks to families living in low-income apartment complexes around the city.
Governor Greg Abbott today held a press conference to provide an update on the COVID-19 surge response efforts in Amarillo.
- The Governor discussed the state’s ongoing collaboration with local and federal leaders to address COVID-19 hot spots within the Amarillo area, and outlined the data on hospitalizations, testing, fatalities, and positivity rates that demonstrate the success of the surge response teams in containing and mitigating further spread of this virus.
- The Governor noted that there is ongoing testing in meat processing plants in the Amarillo area that could result in a spike in cases, and that the surge response teams will respond with the same proven strategies.
- Governor Abbott announced the formation of surge response teams on May 5th. These teams serve nursing homes, packing plants, and other facilities that experience flare ups of COVID-19 by providing personal protective equipment, testing supplies, onsite staffing, and assessment assistance.
- “Here in Texas, we have implemented a strategy that enables Texans to get back to work while mitigating further spread of COVID-19,” said Governor Abbott. “Amarillo is an example of this strategy in action, and our surge response teams have done a tremendous job in containing the hot spots within the Amarillo community and protecting health and safety. As we continue in our efforts, we are committed to prioritizing public health while safely and strategically opening the state.”
Texas News (May 28th):
- Today, Texas had its highest single day new confirmed case number with 1,855 confirmed cases.
- Professional sports fans will be allowed at outdoor events, with some caveats to slow the spread of the coronavirus, according to a revised order by Gov. Greg Abbott. But leagues must first submit a plan to the Texas Department of State Health Services, using a May 22 protocol guide from the agency. Spectators are only allowed in outdoor venues operating at 25% capacity or less.
- Austin City Council Members on Thursday will hash out a spending framework for more than $170 million in relief funds from the federal CARES Act to support economic relief in the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
- TDCJ Update: In total there have been 48,008 offenders and 15,128 employees tested. 2,495 offenders and 758 staff have tested positive. 1082 offenders and 181 staff have recovered. There have been 36 offender deaths connected to COVID 19 with an additional 22 under investigation. There have been 7 employee line of duty deaths from COVID-19.
Texas News (May 29th):
- Austin extended their stay at home order until June 15th. The extension continues the provisions of the previous order — asking people to stay home and avoid social gatherings; wear face coverings in public, although there is no penalty if you don’t; and asking you to practice social distancing.
- Assisted by Department of Defense supercomputers, San Antonio’s Southwest Research Institute is using its own 3D drug-screening software in the global hunt for a prevention or cure of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. SwRI researchers, funded by a $1.9 million one-year contract from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, are using DoD supercomputers in Mississippi and SwRI’s proprietary software, called Rhodium, to virtually screen millions of drug compounds that might hold some promise for a COVID-19 vaccine or treatment.
- A prominent social conservative and two Republican members of the Texas House have asked the Texas Supreme Court to strike down the law that gave Gov. Greg Abbott broad powers to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The emergency petition, filed Friday and joined by several business owners and Christian pastors, argued that the law granting emergency powers to the governor during declared disasters violates the Texas Constitution’s Bill of Rights.
- Schlitterbahn plans to reopen its New Braunfels and Galveston water-parks in mid-June at 25 percent capacity.
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United States
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COVID-19 United States Statistics
The CDC reports that there are 1,719,827 confirmed cases (21,304 new cases) and 101,711 deaths (1,265 new deaths). The United States has completed 15,646,041 tests.
- Johns Hopkins is tracking that the United States has 1,740,599 cases with 102,516 deaths and 399,991 recoveries.
United States News (May 26th):
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo donned a face mask and rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, marking the partial reopening of the trading floor at 11 Wall Street, which had been shuttered since March 23 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
- U.S. consumer confidence nudged up in May, suggesting the worst of the novel coronavirus-driven economic slump was likely in the past as the country starts to reopen, but it could take a while for the economy to dig out of its hole amid record unemployment.
- White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s administration is looking carefully at a potential “back to work bonus” to encourage Americans who had been laid off as the coronavirus pandemic spread to return to work.
- About a dozen states are seeing an uptick in new virus cases, bucking the national trend of staying steady or seeing decreases — and at least half of the states seeing more infections were part of an early wave of reopening’s in late April and early May. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee are among the states that have seen recent increases in newly reported cases, several weeks after moving to reopen. Arkansas, North Dakota and Oklahoma, which never had statewide stay-at-home orders but began reopening businesses, are also reporting increases in new cases.
- The Justice Department on Tuesday notified three senators that it would not pursue insider trading charges against them after an investigation into stock transactions from the early days of the pandemic did not find sufficient evidence that they had broken the law, according to a person briefed on the investigations.
United States News (May 27th):
- Only about half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if the scientists working furiously to create one succeed, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
- In the week since U.S. auto factories reopened after coronavirus lockdowns, workers at all three Detroit automakers have tested positive for COVID-19 but only Ford Motor Co has temporarily closed plants.
- U.S. applications for home mortgages jumped last week, in a sixth straight weekly increase, suggesting the housing market could lead the economy’s recovery from the novel coronavirus crisis even as high unemployment is expected to linger.
- Republicans warned on Wednesday that legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives during the coronavirus pandemic may not become law if lawmakers are allowed to cast votes remotely under a new voting system.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called on Wednesday for the U.S. Congress to “stop abusing” New York and other Democratic-controlled states and release more federal funds to help them combat the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
United States News (May 28th):
- U.S. senators offered a bipartisan $3 billion plan on Thursday to prepare for the next global health crisis, putting a premium on fighting disease outbreaks and pandemics like COVID-19.
- The top three U.S. airlines, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, are rolling out fresh programs to induce tens of thousands of employees to accept voluntary leave or early retirement in the hope of avoiding widespread furloughs in the fall, company memos show.
- Oil futures rose about 2% on Thursday as a steady improvement in U.S. refining activity offset a surprise build in crude and diesel inventories and on worries that China’s new Hong Kong security law could result in trade sanctions.
- More than 3,000 U.S. meatpacking workers have tested positive for COVID-19 and at least 44 workers have died, the country’s largest meatpacking union said on Thursday, reflecting an increasing toll on plant employees.
United States News (May 29th):
- President Donald Trump on Friday said he is terminating the U.S. relationship with the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus, saying the WHO had essentially become a puppet organization of China.
- U.S. consumers cut spending by the most on record for the second straight month in April while boosting savings to an all-time high, and the growing frugality reinforced expectations the economy could take years to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said Friday he expected New York City, one of the global centers of the pandemic, would begin reopening on June 8, the first step in ending one of the country’s strictest lockdowns. That would allow for nonessential stores to open for curbside pickup and nonessential construction and manufacturing to resume.
- Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said central bankers had seen the need to use their tools “to their fullest extent” as coronavirus restrictions shuttered economies around the globe and caused United States unemployment to soar.
- “We crossed a lot of red lines, that had not been crossed before,” Mr. Powell said in a webinar on Friday. He added that he was comfortable with what the Fed had done, because “this is that situation in which you do that, and you figure it out afterward.”
- The Fed cut interest rates to near-zero and rolled out unlimited bond purchases to soothe markets, while setting up emergency lending programs to keep credit flowing to businesses and state governments.
- Several of those tiptoe into uncharted territory for the central bank, including programs to buy corporate bonds and purchase debt from states and large cities.
World
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COVID-19 World Statistics
The total number of confirmed cases around the world is 5,767,908 with 358,490 deaths and 2,399,247 recoveries. 188 countries are now reporting confirmed cases.
- Russia is reporting 387,623 confirmed cases with 4,374 deaths and 159,257 recoveries.
- Italy is reporting 232,248 confirmed cases with 33,229 deaths and 152,844 recoveries.
- Spain is reporting 238,564 cases with 27,121 deaths, and 150,376 recoveries.
- The UK is reporting 272,606 confirmed cases with 38,243 deaths.
- France is reporting 186,923 confirmed cases with 28,717 deaths and 67,921 recoveries.
- Brazil is reporting 438,238 confirmed cases with 26,754 deaths and 177,604 recoveries.
- Germany is reporting 182,922 confirmed cases with 8,504 deaths and 164,245 recoveries.
- Canada has 90,861 confirmed cases with 7,063 deaths and 47,631 recoveries.
- Mexico has 81,400 confirmed cases with 9,044 deaths and 56,041 recoveries.
World News (May 26th):
- The European Commission will on Wednesday unveil a plan to help the EU economy recover from its coronavirus slump with a mix of grants, loans and guarantees exceeding 1 trillion euros that raised controversy even before it was announced.
- The Spanish government declared a 10-day official mourning period from Wednesday to honor the nearly 30,000 people who died from the coronavirus pandemic in one of the world’s worst-hit countries, government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero said.
- Germany’s government and its state premiers have agreed to extend social distancing rules until June 29 to contain the coronavirus pandemic, a government spokesman said.
- Russia said on Tuesday 174 people with the coronavirus had died in the past 24 hours, a record one-day amount that pushed the nationwide death toll to 3,807.
- Britain will provide the anti-viral drug Remdesivir to certain COVID-19 patients that it is most likely to benefit as part of a collaboration with manufacturer Gilead Sciences, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
- The Americas have emerged as the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a Tuesday briefing, as a U.S. study forecast deaths surging in Brazil and other Latin American countries through August.
- Over 115,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases on the African continent – with more than 46,000 recoveries & 3,400 deaths.
World News (May 27th):
- The European Union set out a $2 trillion coronavirus response plan, including a massive pooling of national financial resources that, if approved, would deepen the bloc’s economic union in a way that even the eurozone debt crisis failed to achieve.
- European governments moved on Wednesday to halt the use of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients, and a second global trial was suspended, further blows to hopes for a treatment.
- The number of coronavirus cases in the six Gulf Arab states doubled in less than a month to surpass 200,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters’ tally, at a time the region’s two biggest economies move to resume activity.
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday vowed to help provincial authorities revamp the country’s senior care system after soldiers helping in nursing homes in Ontario and Quebec reported serious shortfalls this week.
- Britain will gradually move towards more localized action to tackle local coronavirus flare-ups, as opposed to the nationwide measures taken so far, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday.
- Germany will lift a warning against travel to 26 fellow EU countries from June 15, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday, adding that Berlin would decide later on its travel guidelines for other countries, including Turkey.
World News (May 28th):
- The number of coronavirus infections in France jumped on the same day the government announced an easing of lockdown rules, but the increase reflected the inclusion of new data rather than a rise in daily infections, the Health Ministry said. France will allow restaurants, bars and beaches to reopen from June 2.
- Doctors in hospitals across the Chilean capital Santiago said on Wednesday beds are fast running short as new coronavirus cases spike across the city, forcing urgent care wards to make tough decisions with patients flooding the system.
- Cases of community transmission of the new coronavirus are growing in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, and a new strategy for testing is needed to prevent this, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.
- World Bank Group President David Malpass on Thursday called for longer-term debt relief for the world’s 77 poorest countries, and said many would need a permanent and significant debt reduction to cope with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Argentina plans to maintain its flight ban until Sept. 1 to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, worldwide airline industry group IATA, which has been lobbying to lift restrictions faster, said on Thursday.
World News (May 29th):
- France’s coronavirus deaths rose by less than 100 for the ninth day running on Friday and new confirmed cases slowed again as the country gears up for easing lockdown.
- Portugal gave the green light on Friday to the third phase of its lockdown exit, but some restrictions will remain in Lisbon due to localized outbreaks in industrial hubs and outskirts.
- The coronavirus lockdown will ease next week for most of Britain’s population, Boris Johnson announced on Thursday.
- South Africa has a backlog of more than 96,000 unprocessed specimens awaiting coronavirus tests, the health ministry said on Friday, reflecting what it called a global shortage of test kits.
- Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar raised the prospect on Friday of halving social distancing rules from two meters to one if the rate of coronavirus infections comes down further in a potential boost to still shuttered restaurants and pubs.
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