Comal County Judge Issues Stay Home/Work Safely Guidelines
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Comal County Judge Sherman Krause on Thursday issued Stay Home/Work Safely guidance for reducing the public health threat posed by COVID-19, the county announced in a press release on Friday, March 27.
This is not a mandatory order like the one issued earlier this week by Bexar County and the City of San Antonio, which restricts residents to their homes except for certain exempted activities.
Krause’s guidelines include voluntary shutdown of water-recreation businesses.
“Water recreation businesses that have long been major economic generators in our community should voluntarily shut down,” the guidance reads, citing protocol issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and executive orders issued by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. “Close-contact businesses like hair and nail salons, massage therapists and personal spas should voluntarily shut down until the threat has subsided.”
The guidance includes a set of voluntary mitigation measures that encourages county residents to stay home and avoid social gatherings. It also requests that local businesses implement social distancing measures, allow employees to work remotely, and implement expanded and flexible leave policies.
The guidance includes additional steps the county will take if the voluntary measures “are inadequate because of insufficient voluntary response, or COVID-19 is a continued risk to the health and safety of the county.”
Those potential future measures include targeted mandatory orders affecting close-contact businesses, water recreation and parks, and community mandatory orders such as a shelter-in-place order affecting the unincorporated areas of Comal County.
“Comal County has faced many disasters with one common storyline – citizens do not wait for someone to do things for us or tell us what to do,” the guidance begins. “We step up and do what is right for our community, and the COVID-19 crisis is no different.”
To review the guidelines, click HERE.
The regular flu kills more people every day than this does. This is a Pandemic of mass hysteria, fear-mongering, and ignorance.
Being outdoors is essential to mental health and science proves this to be an important source of vitamin D. The body uses the vitamin to absorb the calcium it needs to build and maintain bones. A healthy physical and mental state are imperative in the wake of this virus. Do not close our lakes and rivers! Recreation based
businesses should close unless they can demonstrate reasonable safety measures with reasonable limitations. People fishing, skiing, boating hiking, biking, bird watching, playing golf, are all acceptable activities providing they are abiding by the appropriate safety measures, social distancing etc. Be responsible, be vigilant, do not gather with those outside of your household and the results well be favorable and our goal of flattening the curve will be achieved. Citizens who are not taking this seriously are not going to do any less gathering because you remove therm from public spaces. They will gather in homes, back yards, etcetc. Do not penalize the majority who are in accordance with appropriate safety measures and being responsible for the absurd actions of a few. There is absolutely zero harm in going fishing or playing a round of golf with my teenage sons. Before anyone comments, there are no water stations, diabetics have been removed, we put to a quarter we drop somewhere on the green, we walk and do not use anything we did not bring. This opportunity for families to be on extended vacation together is unprecedented for the vast majority! We can effectively use this time to build our values and stronger family units! The martial law style closure will backfire and create civil disobedience and public unrest, thus creating unnecessary engagement for law enforcement and potentially overflowing jails. Respect social distancing, respect hand washing, stop hoarding, cover your sneeze, don’t touch what you do not need to, stay with those from your household and stay home if you do not feel well! The media has a stranglehold on our society. Our elected officials won’t be in office long if they attempt to close the world. People will remember when election time comes around again!
We’ve seen license plates from several states, including New York at our local grocery store. I have someone new next door every weekend because our neighbor continues to rent out his house. I see people gather on boats at the lake. You can tell us to stay home but will you tell the tourists who could be spreading the virus at the gas stations and stores? I think its time to lock it down and tell the tourist to STAY HOME!
This is actually a weak and pathetic ‘suggestion’ only and will have no impact on behavior. Travel around and observe that few are taking this seriously. Our governor has left the Texas containment of a worldwide pandemic to local yokels. Krause’s inability to act in a deliberate and effective way is the perfect example of why Abbott is wrong.
Better late than never.