四虎影院

The combination of colder weather and holiday gatherings was always going to be a perfect storm during the pandemic.

Dr. Aliza Norwood, a physician and assistant professor at UT Austin's Dell Medical School, said cold weather generally forces people inside, and many families will find it hard to resist holding gatherings in the coming weeks.

鈥�2020 has been an incredibly tough year," she said. "It鈥檚 completely understandable that people want to see their loved ones."

But right before the holiday season, the stakes of gathering got higher as COVID-19 cases started to rise.

Even though Texas has had one of the highest case counts in the nation for months, Norwood said, we're entering a different phase that is "very, very concerning."

鈥淭here is evidence of more community spread," she said. "So, whenever you are gathering with people, because there is more community spread, there is a higher risk that someone in that cohort that you are gathering with may be exposed to COVID or have COVID and not know it."

If behaviors don鈥檛 change, Norwood said, there is going to be a strain on hospitals. She said medical staff will have to focus their energy on treating COVID patients, while people with other illnesses get less attention.

And as more people get sick from COVID, Norwood said, there will be more deaths.

鈥淎s a primary care physician who is caring for people who have had loved ones die, or who themselves have been in the hospital, it鈥檚 just completely devastating to individuals, to families, to the community,鈥� she said. 鈥淪eeing that up close and personal, I wouldn鈥檛 wish that on anybody.鈥�

That's why policy experts say they hope it's not only individuals who change their behavior, but also state and local officials.

Luis Figueroa, legislative and policy director with the Austin-based think tank Every Texan, said he wants to see the state working more collaboratively with officials in the state鈥檚 big cities and counties.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no question that cities and counties 鈥� particularly urban cities 鈥� are on the front lines of trying to determine how to contain this global pandemic,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou know, from the get-go it would have been ideal for there to be a clear understanding of what role cities and counties could play and what role the state would play.鈥�

Figueroa said that lack of clarity has made it harder for local officials to respond to outbreaks in their communities 鈥� for example, whether to further restrict indoor gatherings, what to do about schools and when to consider fully locking down.

鈥淲e are believers in letting cities and counties set their priorities for things like that based on data-driven policy,鈥� Figueroa said.

But state officials haven鈥檛 seen it that way. When cities like El Paso tried to shut down during a dangerous surge in cases, local officials were met with resistance.

Gov. Greg Abbott has said flat-out there won鈥檛 be another statewide shutdown and that he doesn't think they work.

鈥淭here's an overestimation of exactly what a shutdown will achieve and there is a misunderstanding about what a shutdown will not achieve,鈥� he said during a press conference last month.

Abbott said there are financial and mental health consequences associated with lockdowns, too.

But Figueroa said there鈥檚 also a cost associated with state and local officials going back and forth on what to do.

鈥淲e saw that with the Rio Grande Valley earlier in the year, where the hospitals became completely overrun and the state wasn鈥檛 taking enough action to address the situation,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o many lives could be saved if we worked with our local communities, instead of trying to fight them over power and authority.鈥�

Figueroa said what lies ahead depends greatly on how the branches of government react.

Abbott recently accused local officials of not enforcing the restrictions they already have available to them, like limiting capacity in bars and restaurants.

鈥淪ome local officials are not using the tools that are available to them to make sure they are taking every step they need,鈥� he said.

Abbott said there鈥檚 no point giving officials the ability to restrict more things if they don鈥檛 enforce the restrictions already in place.

Figueroa said this is not how things should be handled, especially as cases continue to rise.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 not working together; that鈥檚 pointing fingers,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what we need less of.鈥�

Copyright 2020 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit .