In his weekday video report posted on Facebook Monday, Liberty County Judge Jay Knight explained that 176 Liberty County residents have been tested for COVID-19 and only 19 of those have been confirmed as positive. Thirty-one tests are still pending and 126 tests were negative for COVID-19.
“Looking at the pendings, that number has been pretty steady. We can live with that,” said Knight.
The State of Texas continues to fare better than other states in the nation. Despite being the second-most populated state, Texas ranks #10 for the number of COVID-19 cases. According to Knight, 422 new confirmed cases were reported on Monday. As of Monday, the Texas Department of State Health Services is reporting that 287 Texans have died as a result of COVID-19. The state has 13,906 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 2,269 people have completely recovered. A total of 133,226 Texans have been tested for the disease. Of the 254 counties in Texas, 178 have confirmed cases.
Knight says Liberty County residents still need to “tighten up” when venturing out to shop for groceries and supplies.
“Just one adult is plenty to go [inside a store]. Wear a mask. We strongly recommend that you do,” he said, adding that Liberty County residents should do their best to shop local. “If you have to go to Houston to work, go there and come straight home. Let’s not tarry. Don’t be stopping off anywhere. You can go to the grocery store here in Liberty County. We prefer that you do because this is where you live, and it does these business a lot better.”
Liberty County has seen a recent uptick in the number of complaints for family violence and the discharge of firearms, according to the judge. Knight said that on Easter Sunday, 26 calls were made to the sheriff’s office to complain about the discharge of firearms.
“That’s a little too much, y’all. There is a law in your county that was passed back in 2004 that concerns the discharge of firearms. It is against the law. No one is allowed to discharge a firearm if your property where you live is in a platted subdivision and if the property size is under 10 acres,” Knight said. “It’s just dangerous to be shooting a weapon – like a pistol or rifle – in a platted subdivision if your property is less than 10 acres.”
One of the areas known for frequent complaints about gunfire is a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in an unincorporated area south of Plum Grove. For the benefit of the Spanish-speaking population, Knight, who is bilingual, translated this section of his message.
Knight reminded county residents that it is important that everyone does their part to fight the spread of the novel Coronavirus, which can lead to COVID-19 disease.
He encouraged residents to continue practicing social distancing, keeping at least 6 feet away from others in public, and wash their hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds several times a day.
“You can’t catch the virus if you aren’t exposed to it,” he said.
Why aren’t Court House employees wearing mask? I know it’s not mandatory, but what kind of example are they setting?
The County attorney office employees and the bailiff for the County Judge were not wearing masks and were congregating without distancing.. Scary to go to your courthouse without adequate supervision.