Will RodeoHouston actually happen in 2022? Hidalgo says yes, as long as COVID wave subsides

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Tuesday the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo should proceed as planned, citing a decline in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. “It’s difficult to predict what things are going to look like in a month, but I’m very hopeful,” Hidalgo said. “I hesitate to say A-OK, because I know what our hospitals are facing.” She did not rule out, however, shuttering the event for the third straight year if trends reverse. Hidalgo returned the county to its highest virus threat level on Jan. 10, which urges the more than 1 million unvaccinated residents here to stay home and avoid unnecessary contact with others.

There is growing evidence that the omicron wave is waning in the Houston region. Virus hospitalizations have declined 8 percent since peaking on Jan. 18. Unlike previous surges, the Texas Medical Center has never exceeded its base ICU capacity while dealing with omicron. The carnival area of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was near empty after the announcement of the rodeo closing early on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Remain calm and exit in an orderly fashion reads a sign at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at NRG Center in Houston. Officials announced the rodeo will be closing at 4pm on Wednesday. Dominic Palmieri, a concession owner, loads unused food from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo onto a pallet Friday, March 13, 2020, near NRG Stadium in Houston. Vendors donated unused food to local charities, including the Houston Food Bank and the Star of Hope, after the rodeo was canceled due to concerns about COVID-19. "It's tens of thousands of dollars of food," he said. RodeoHouston has been cancelled two years in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Houston Chronicle staff) Hospitals across the state, however, have suffered from severe staffing shortages driven by the virus. The city of Houston issues the permits for the rodeo, since the event is within city limits. Harris County owns NRG Park, which it rents out for the event. The rodeo is scheduled to run Feb. 28 through March 20.