WACO, TX — The City of Waco gave an update on the state of the county and the city in a press conference on Wednesday.
The city said they are closing certain amenities at local parks. The amenities include:
Playgrounds structures
Basketball goals removed
Skate park
Horseshoe areas
Golf courses
Disc golf courses
Water fountains
The parks are still open, however, the mayor said people are not following social distancing guidelines while at the parks. He is urging people to follow those guidelines to keep the trails open.
On March 17, the city activated the emergency plan.
The EOC in Waco has deployed personal protective equipment in the area. This includes 25,000 eye shields, 12,000 N95 masks and other masks such as cloth and surgical masks.
There are 54 ICU beds in McLennan County, and 40 are in use. During the press conference, they also said the county has 66 ventilators, and 12 are in use.
City officials say that because an item in use does not mean it is used for COVID-19. There are also 521 total licensed hospital beds, with the capacity to expand to surge.
They also said they are implementing telehealth services and encouraging people with COVID-19 symptoms to self-isolate.
In the county, there have been 1,000 patients tested for COVID-10 and about 4.5 percent of those have tested positive.
Again, they emphasized that social distancing is the key to keeping the current number of cases and deaths low.
The Texas projection for deaths have gone down from 6,000 to 2,000 due to social distancing guidelines.