As it was headed out the door, 2020 got Val Verde County one last time.
Lewis Owens, Val Verde County judge, was forced to close all bars and limit restaurants to 50 percent of capacity thanks to a rise in local hospitalization rates.
Texas Governor’s Order No. 32 requires counties that rise above the 15 percent hospitalization level of COVID patients for 7 consecutive days, are deemed “High Hospitalization Areas”. They are required by the state to take the steps of closing bars and decreasing occupancy of restaurants. To read the entire order, click here.
Val Verde County’s hospitalization levels rose well above that for 7 consecutive days this past week. “We are going to have to do a better job being safe and doing what we need to do,” Owens said.
Shortly after the judge released his 10-minute video, the City of Del Rio released the latest COVID data that said Del Rio had gained 102 new cases over the weekend.
“This is something we need to take serious,” Owens said. “The first week we come back and everyone goes back to school, it’s just going to go through the roof.”
The judge predicted the numbers would remain high throughout January, increasing the impact to the community.
One local restaurant owner said it was a tough balancing act for local businesses. “The health of Del Rio is our number one concern,” said Eddie Amezcua Jr, who owns Buffalo Wings and Rings and Skillets’ restaurants. “This impacts our employees, our radio stations we support, the guy who comes in and cleans our trash cans, everyone we work with it impacts because we are going to have to start cutting back.”
To watch the entire video, click here.
