After a Year, County Leaders Stop Declaring COVID Ongoing ‘Disaster’ Here
Fayette County Commissioners voted unanimously last Thursday to rescind the local disaster declaration for COVID-19 that has been in place for over a year.
“The Governor has rescinded the (statewide) mask mandate, and I think its time we can rescind this local disaster,” said County Judge Joe Weber.
Weber said the disaster declaration gave Weber authority to order the movement of people and supplies in order to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. It also opened up the County to disaster aid from federal sources.
“Funds have been authorized by the federal government,” Weber said. “We don’t know yet how much is coming.
“Our hospitals are handling this,” Weber said. “Our first responders are handling this. There’s no shortage of ventilators. Our numbers still change daily. No doubt, it’s serious. It’s highly contagious. But people are getting it and recovering for the most part.”
Assistant County Attorney Blake Watson said Fayette County remains part of the statewide disaster declaration issued by Governor Greg Abbott. Abbott extended the statewide declaration on March 5, despite lifting the statewide mask mandate effective March 10.
“Whether we rescind this declaration or not, Fayette County will remain under the state disaster declaration for COVID,” Watson said.
Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom asked Weber whether he feels he needs the authority given to him under the local disaster declaration.
Early in the pandemic, for example, the disaster declaration gave Weber the authority to close hotels in Fayette County following a virus outbreak at a hotel in Schulenburg. Weber said he has heard legal discussion about using a local disaster declaration to mandate mask wearing within a county, despite Governor Abbott’s lifting of the mask mandate last week.
“I’m not going to do that,” Weber said. “I’m asking people to use their good judgement with wearing masks.”
“If you’re not going to do that, and we’ve been in this long enough to know the funding, do we just not renew it?” McBroom asked.
“That’s the point I’m trying to make,” Weber said.
“There are 25 or 30 counties that have opted to rescind their disaster declarations, and they haven’t fallen into the sea,” Weber added. “I’ve looked at some of their numbers and they seem to be doing OK. How long do we want to keep this up?
Weber said he and the commissioners would consider reestablishing the local disaster declaration if the situation took a turn for the worse.
“We flattened the curve, and that wasn’t good enough,” he continued. “We tried some other things. Now we’ve got the vaccine. Now we’ve got immunity. We’ve got ventilators and hospitals. Now we’ve got doctors who know how to treat this. At some point in time, there has got to be, for society and the public to know that we’re going to get through this.”
Later in the meeting, Fayette County Emergency Management Chief Craig Moreau reported that 2,259 county residents have recovered from the virus. About 15.8 percent of county residents have received at least their first dose of the vaccine, he added.
“It’s still serious,” Weber said. “I encourage everybody to act responsibly. Take care of yourself, your family members, your neighbors. If you’re not feeling well, stay home. If you’re uncomfortable being around large crowds, don’t go where they are and stay at home. Wash your hands. Sanitize your environment. Maintain social distancing. And wear a mask if you feel you need one, particularly if you can’t maintain social distancing.”
Commissioners voted unanimously to rescind the disaster declaration.
Weber said that private business owners have the right to require people to wear masks inside their stores. People who don’t comply with a business’s rules could face trespassing charges.
“If you want to enter there and argue and fight about it, you’re going to lose,” Weber said. “That’s their private business. Slip your mask on if you want to go in there or shop somewhere else.”
Weber said Governor Greg Abbott’s order last week lifting the mask mandate prohibits local governments from requiring masks in their offices. He said County department heads and office managers may put up signs asking people to wear a mask, especially in some of the small offices. However, no one would be turned away.
“I’m asking everybody to please act responsibly,” he said. “Make good, sound decisions on where you go, how you feel, who you associate with, hand washing, sanitization, and wearing a mask. I strongly encourage everyone to wear a mask, especially if you find yourself in a situation where you’re too close to someone else. But we in Fayette County don’t need the government to tell us to do that.”
COVID Here by the Numbers
According to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services:
• There are currently 117 active cases of COVID in Fayette County, 2,193 have recovered from the disease and 56 have died from COVID here.
• 4,349 people in Fayette County have received at least the first dose of the COVID vaccine.
* After a year of reporting COVID stats on the county website, Fayette County will no longer do so, citing the inability to get reliable data.