Donley County residents are now under a “stay at home” order that took effect Monday night, and the number of active cases of COVID-19 rose to 13 this week.
Judge John Howard issued the order, which expires at the end of April, to mirror Gov. Greg Abbott’s order last week; but unlike the governor, the judge used plainer language in telling residents explicitly to “stay at home.”
“I think it’s pretty clear,” Howard said. “My order is the governor’s order. The whole purpose is to tell people to stay at home.”
On Wednesday, Howard’s office reported that the total number of local COVID-19 cases was now at 13, including 11 cases that tested positive from the Clarendon Family Medical Center and two cases that tested outside the county.
“It is definitely here in our community, and it is definitely time to do everything we can to keep it from spreading,” Howard said.
Howard said all patients of the local clinic are recovering under self-quarantine at home, but one local patient who had tested elsewhere was reported to have been hospitalized Sunday in Amarillo.
Howard said his medical office had tested 36 people for COVID with 22 negatives and nine pending cases Tuesday afternoon.
For residents who test outside the county, only confirmed cases are reported to the county judge by the state. Pending or negative tests involving local residents outside the county are unknown.
Clarendon Mayor Sandy Skelton issued a “stay at home” order for the city last Thursday, before Howard’s order was signed this week. ordered out of an abundance of caution due to the increased number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Donley County, which at that time was a total of three.
City officials instructed non-essential businesses to close their doors to the public.
Howard’s order went into effect at 11:59 p.m. on April 6 and will expire at 11:59 p.m. on April 30, 2020, if it is not extended.
The local order, passed under the authority of the county’s declared health emergency, requires every resident of Donley County to “stay at their home or residence and limit movements and personal interaction outside the home to only those necessary to obtain or provide essential services or to conduct essential activities” as explained by the governor’s order.
The order also requires residents who have been medically advised to isolate or quarantine to strictly observe that isolation or quarantine for the entire period until medically cleared, and advises residents to observe social distancing and other guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
“The observations and guidance I have attempted to provide over the past several weeks is more important now than ever,” Howard wrote in an article for this week’s Enterprise. “And it will be necessary for us all to be vigilant in the weeks to come. These restrictions are necessary to reduce the spread of a highly contagious and potentially deadly virus.”
Under Howard’s order and the governor’s order, failure to comply can result in a fine of up to $1,000 or a jail sentence of up to 180 days.
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