AUSTIN, Texas -- There are more than 30 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Texas, including 11 cases where people who caught the COVID-19 disease overseas were quarantined at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.
The other cases are spread across the state and most are people who caught the virus while traveling overseas. But health officials said Wednesday they don't know how a Houston-area man became infected, suggesting the first signs of community spread of the virus within the state.
Houston officials say the man is in his 40s and attended a barbecue at the Houston Rodeo on February 28. It's unclear if he had symptoms at the time.
“We shouldn’t be surprised. We’ve been warned” said Dr. Gerald Parker, Associate Dean for Global One Health at Texas A&M University. “We’ve had time to prepare and now is the time to implement.”
Government testing capacity for the COVID-19 disease remains limited. Texas has 10 labs able to conduct testing.
But Dr. Parker is optimistic that will all ramp up. He added the private sector and universities are responding as well by establishing additional testing capacity that’s outside of health labs.
“That should prove extremely beneficial to get this testing capacity into the private sector and into hospitals and doctor’s offices,” he said.
Dr. Parker says taking basic personal hygiene seriously is critical to contain the virus.
“We're number one in the world in preparedness, but we have to take this COVID outbreak very serious,” he said.
Click the video link above to watch our full interview with Dr. Parker.