By Karen Gleason
Some migrants arriving in Del Rio are now being tested for COVID-19.
Mayor Bruno “Ralphy” Lozano informed city council members about the testing Tuesday during a discussion of the city’s COVID-19 situation, which was part of a presentation given by City Emergency Management Coordinator John Sheedy.
“I know that this is going to be a very sensitive topic for many, but now that they’re doing some testing for the migrants and refugees and asylum-seekers, do you know if those numbers are added to the local number (of total COVID tests)?” Lozano asked.
Sheedy said no, he didn’t know.
“And do we know where they’re being held, if they test positive? Have we had any update from them, from the Department of Homeland Security?” Lozano asked.
“We have not, mayor. The county emergency management coordinator and myself have had a call from a gentleman from FEMA, and we laid out a lot of the concerns and some things that we hope that they could help us on, primarily being that testing component, because we’re in a bad place when we’ve got migrants – and there’s been a couple of times when we thought there had been a (positive) case – and we found ourselves in this tricky position,” Sheedy said.
“The challenge has always been, if we started testing, the resources get quite heavy quite quickly because then you have to do quarantine and go through all that process (if someone tests positive),” Sheedy explained.
Lozano said he wanted to give the council an update on his ongoing communication with Del Rio Border Patrol Sector Chief Austin L. Skero II.
“It’s my understanding that there is some testing being done on the migrants that are detained, and it’s being done under medical services offered by the Department of Homeland Security,” Lozano said.
“It is also my understanding that there have been such minimal positive cases, that they’re currently being able to be processed under Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security care, with the extended offices under that umbrella,” the mayor said.
Lozano said if the situation changes, he would immediately update the council.
“I have been actively communicating with agencies up and down the federal ladder to ensure that our concerns as a community are definitely heard. As to our local positivity rate, we’re trending the right way, and I don’t want to see any increase due to exposure from individuals that are transiting our community, regardless of their status,” the mayor said.
