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Coronavirus community spread suspected in Brazoria County, officials suspect Houston Rodeo

Coronavirus community spread suspected in Brazoria County, officials suspect Houston Rodeo
4 years 8 months 13 hours ago Sunday, March 15 2020 Mar 15, 2020 March 15, 2020 11:35 AM March 15, 2020 in News
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was shut down after concerns of the spread of the coronavirus in Houston. (Photo by Katie Haugland Bowen via Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Brazoria County is reporting its first two cases of the new coronavirus in what is possibly the third instance of community spread in the state.

The individuals, who reside in the same household in Alvin, self-reported after attending the Houston Rodeo cook-off and livestock show and have not traveled outside the Houston area. Lanny Brown, manager of Brazoria’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness, said officials could not confirm when the individuals attended those events but that testing happened Thursday.

The individuals are in their mid-30s to mid-40s. Brown said he could not confirm their family status. They are both being quarantined at home and were not hospitalized.

The absence of travel suggests community spread, but official confirmation is pending investigation. Both Dallas and Montgomery counties reported community spread earlier this week.

As of Saturday afternoon, Texas had 62 known cases of COVID-19 — 11 cases stemming from people who were abroad and forced into a federal quarantine site in San Antonio's Lackland Air Force Base.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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