One Houston area school district isn't waiting for Governor Abbott to decide how the school year will end.
The Fort Bend ISD says they will not have students return to class for the rest of the semester. Instead, remote learning will continue. Superintendent Charles Dupre explained his decision in an email to parents.
"There are several factors we took into consideration, with safety and security being our top priority – we know that, even if Governor Abbott allows schools to reopen as of May 4, many families and staff members will be reluctant to return to school and work to avoid potential exposure to the virus. Additionally, because there are only three weeks remaining of instruction after May 4, we believe it will be even more disruptive to our students, staff and teachers to ask them to pivot back into our buildings and the traditional classroom environment," Dupre wrote.
Governor Abbott, who had shut schools down until May 4th, is supposed to have an announcement about all Texas schools later this week.
The City of Houston announced 40 new cases yesterday and five deaths yesterday. The city also opened up two new sites for anyone, even those without symptoms, for testing.
There are apparently testing issues in Montgomery County where residents are claiming they can't get tested. The county says they requested over a thousand kits from the state last month but only got six.
The Houston area has just under 5,900 cases with 105 people passing away. Harris County 1,628 cases and 29 deaths. The state of Texas has 15,342 confirmed cases and a death toll of 362.
Elsewhere:
- Area hospitals are asking for plasma from people who have recovered from the coronavirus. That plasma can be used to treat patients who are sick.
- Last week we told you about those nursing home patients being treated with the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine. All patients finished their five day course of treatment and are doing well.
- There will be a sales tax holiday weekend form April 25th through the 27th for emergency supplies ahead of this year's Atlantic Hurricane season.
- The Astros could lose more than 40% of their revenue because of the pandemic.
- After losing a loved one to the virus, a Richmond man has joined a class action lawsuit against China.
- A new Houston distillery, William Price Distilling, just got their permit a few weeks ago. They decided to make hand sanitizer before the make anything else.