The victim is a Fort Bend County a man in his 70's who had traveled overseas and became ill after he returned. He's hospitalized in isolation in stable condition. The diagnosis is being called presumptive positive.
City of Houston Health Authority Dr. David Persse says his city's lab can now test for Covid-19, and did in this case. "We believe the result is an actual positive. It will undergo a confirmation process at the CDC. At this point we have no reason to believe that it is anything other than accurate."
Health officials say there's no evidence the it has been spread in the community.
Dr. Jacquelyn Johnson-Minter, Director, Health & Human Services at Fort Bend County is not surprised. "While we know this news is concerning, it is not unexpected. We have watched the numbers of cases increase daily in the U.S. and it was just a matter of time before Texas announced its first case."
Dr. Umair A. Shah Executive Director at Harris County Public Health stresses this is a novel virus. "It has made a jump from animals to humans, and because there has been evolving information related to this, we just can't let our guard down." He says there's a chance the virus will lessen when the weather warms and flu dissipates. "We're hopeful that is going to give us some relief across the country and across the globe from the amount of activity that may be seen, but we just don't know."
In a press release, Dr. John Hellerstedt, DSHS commissioner says "Having a COVID-19 case in Texas is a significant development in this outbreak, but it doesn't change the fact that the immediate risk to most Texans is low "This travel-related case reinforces the fact that we should all be taking basic hygiene steps that are extremely effective in limiting limit the spread of COVID-19 and all respiratory illnesses."
From the research into COVID-19, we know that about 80 percent of cases are mild with most people not needing hospitalization. However, older adults and people with underlying health conditions like heart disease, lung disease and diabetes are at a greater risk of complications.
Doctors stress your best defense is to wash your hands frequently and cover your mouth and nose when your cough or sneeze.