Hello Hudson Oaks,

This morning, I was on a conference call with Parker County Judge, Pat Deen, County Emergency Management Coordinator, Sean Hughes and several Parker County mayors and city managers. Judge Deen and Sean Hughes gave us a quick update as to where we stand with the COVID-19 outbreak here in Parker County and what we may encounter in the near future. They also dispelled several rumors and concerns that mayors had been hearing from their residents. I just wanted to give you some information we received that you may find interesting.

As of today, April 3, 2020, the Texas Department of State Health Services has reported that five people have tested positive for the Coronavirus here in Parker County. Three are recuperating at home and two have already recovered from the virus. This means that no one in Parker County has been admitted to a hospital for treatment of the Coronavirus. While these numbers are encouraging, I want to stress that they probably do not reflect everyone who currently has the virus in Parker County. Even with that being said, there are definitely reasons why we are not seeing a large uptick in documented Coronavirus cases. Primarily, we are considered a rural county where people do not live in close proximity to each other like large, metropolitan, urban cities. Second, Fort Worth and Tarrant County have ‘shelter in place’ orders preventing over 60% of our residents from traveling back and forth to work. Finally, and most importantly, our residents have been very cooperative and have listened to their local, county and state governments’ pleas to stay home, not congregate, practice social distancing and use proper hygiene.

This is definitely good news for residents in Parker County, however, as we have seen throughout the world, the situation can change very quickly. While we pray that we are spared from any further effects of this pandemic, you should know that we have been assured by our county leaders that testing kits, PPE (personal protective equipment) and hospital beds are available and ready should a serious outbreak occur here. As far as testing is concerned, currently, hospital staff, first responders and others at high risk of contracting COVID-19 are being tested, if necessary. If you do have symptoms associated with the virus, you should see your primary physician who will then request that the test be administered. Symptoms and more information about the virus may be found at https://www.dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/.

I don’t want to give false hope to anyone believing that they can defy the county judge and governor’s orders because of our low number of Coronavirus cases. We MUST continue to do what we have been doing and hunker down for hopefully just a few more weeks. Rest assured that your city, county and state government officials are in constant contact with each other and together will make the best decisions necessary to protect you and your family. Please continue to support your local restaurants and businesses by going through the drive-thru, ordering takeout and making online purchases.

Thank you for doing your part to help our community get through these unprecedented and tough times.

Marc Povero

Mayor – Hudson Oaks, Texas