BREAKING NEWS: Disaster declarations issued by city, county

Donley County Judge John Howard has issued a Declaration of a Local State of Disaster due to the public health emergency presented by the spread of COVID-19.

No cases of the virus have yet been reported in Donley County, but two confirmed cases were reported in Amarillo Thursday evening.

In addition to opening up state and federal resources, the declaration grants the county broad authority to close businesses, quarantine people, and prohibit public meetings, but Judge Howard says he is not going to use that authority at this time, hoping instead that people will voluntarily take the precautions needed to slow the spread of the disease.

Earlier in the week, the judge had said he did not think churches needed to suspend services, but he said that advice was now “out the window” with the confirmation of cases in nearby Amarillo.

Howard’s order is in effect on its own for seven days, but the county commissioners will meet Monday to consider ratifying that order and putting it in place for up to 60 days.

The City of Clarendon also issued a Local Disaster Declaration in an emergency meeting Thursday night in the face of the COVID-19 threat.

The declaration, which will have to be renewed every seven days, will help the city access state and federal resources as the world continues to grapple with the pandemic.

The city council also approved a Coronavirus Action Plan and triggered Phase 2 with the confirmed cases COVID-19 in Amarillo. Those Phase 2 rules includes the following:

• The City will reimburse customers the $3 convenience fee when they pay city bills by credit card.
• The City will discontinue utility disconnects.
• The City will waive late fees.
• The City will not accept cash payments.
• The City will provide signage at City Hall and Library to inform customers of potential closure.

Also on Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order to contain the spread of COVID-19 that includes closing restaurants and bars to dine-in business, closing gyms, closing schools, limiting social gatherings to 10 people, and banning people from visiting nursing homes except for critical care.

Complete coverage of Abbott’s action can be found here: https://bit.ly/3906SVL

As of Thursday afternoon the Enterprise also has the following list of local closures and postponements:

• The Mulkey Theatre has suspended movies scheduled for this week and next week.
• The Clarendon Visitor Center is closed to the public, but the office is still staffed and providing information.
• The Donley County Senior Citizens Center is still delivering meals and to-go meals are available from the center, but the dining room is closed.
• The Hedley Senior Citizens Center is open today but will switch to to-go meals Friday.
• The First Assembly of God in Clarendon has suspended all services until at least April 5.
• The Presbyterian Church in Clarendon has canceled services through the end of March.
• The Nazarene Church in Clarendon has canceled its service for this coming Sunday.
• The Donley County Sheriff’s Office has suspended visitation until further notice
• The Clarendon Housing Authority office is not open to the public but we are here to answer calls, take care of work-orders and take money at the door.
• The Clarendon Church of Christ has suspended services with plans to resume services on April 5.
• The Clarendon First United Methodist Church services are canceled until further notice.