Local officials to update community on COVID-19 situation this afternoon
Local officials will host an “Urgent COVID-19 Update” at 4:30 p.m. today, Thursday, July 16. The update will be broadcast live on the Stephens County Facebook page.
During the update, Stephens County Judge Michael Roach expects to raise the restriction level for the county, including requiring masks for anyone who is out in public. Roach said Dr. Kelli Windsor, Dr. William Prater and Dr. Cynthia Perry will be at the meeting to provide information, as well.
“We have not chosen to exempt out of the governor’s order (for everyone to wear masks), so we’re going to back the governor’s order for our county, which requires a mask for folks who can’t social distance that are out in public,” Roach said. “And, then we’re also going to recommend quite a few other things. We’re going to recommend, not require, but recommend a shelter in place for those with co-morbidities and underlying health conditions, the elderly, compromised, those who have issues with their immune system, stuff like that. There’s going to be a list of recommendations and one requirement.”
Roach said he has been talking with Breckenridge Mayor Bob Sims, law enforcement officials, the county attorney, doctors and others, and he is still working on some of the specifics of the update.
At this time, he said he does not intend to close businesses or limit supplies, aside from any restrictions that individual stores or companies have in place.
“The main part of today is we’re going to have three doctors that the community trusts with their healthcare, laying out that we have limited local hospital capacity and, it seems like, no regional hospital capacity,” Roach said, explaining that United Regional Hospital in Wichita Falls is not accepting transfers and Abilene hospitals are limited because so many of their staff members have COVID-19. “(This meeting) is going to pivot how we handle the coronavirus response locally, and it’s going to up it a little bit.”
Click the following link to go to the Stephens County Facebook page and see the update at 4:30 p.m.: https://www.facebook.com/pg/stephenscountytx.gov/posts/
Story by Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
