Paris Mayor Steve Clifford on Thursday gave an update on opening the economy locally while cautioning residents that Lamar County hasn’t seen its peak incidence in this virus yet.
“Governor Abbott has ordered a cautious reopening of the economy in Texas. He has allowed nonessential businesses to open with appropriate social distancing and sanitation policies. He has also allowed restaurants to open at 25% capacity. Any reopening of our economy will obviously increase person to person contact. As such, it is inevitable that this will lead to an increase in the rate of spread of the virus,” said Clifford.
He continued, “So we are caught in a conundrum. We absolutely must reopen our economy. And yet we know that if we do this, there will be more infections and more deaths. We already are seeing rising cases of community spread across the area. So what should we as a community do?.”
First and foremost, Clifford said we must do everything in our power to protect those who are most vulnerable to this virus.
“The CDC says that 85% of all deaths from COVID-19 are in people who are 65 years or older. Every precaution must be taken in our nursing homes including wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment, strict sanitation policies, and frequent testing of residents and staff. We must also take precautions to protect the elderly in our community and those with significant preexisting conditions who are not living in nursing homes.”
“Indoor in person visits are extremely dangerous for these individuals as the risk of viral transmission is high. If you want to visit someone who is at increased risk for coronavirus, please meet the person outside his or her residence and stay at least 6 feet away at all times. All indications are that it is extremely difficult for the virus to be transmitted in the outdoors with appropriate social distancing. The benefit of being outdoors is so great that wearing masks while outside is probably of very little benefit. And obviously telephone and Facetime calls are completely risk free,” he said.
He then cautioned residents that we have not seen the peak of this virus yet in Lamar County.
“Some have suggested that we may reach this peak in about 2 weeks, but this is pure speculation. The greatest risk to people in our community will likely be in the next 3 weeks. There are undoubtedly a large number of people in our community who are infected and are shedding the virus, and this number is growing daily. Anytime you are in a public place indoors where neither you nor the people around you are wearing masks, there will be considerable risk of contracting the virus. So everyone who is inside a public building around other people should absolutely wear a mask. If other people in the building are not wearing masks, then avoid entering it altogether and seek out other options such as shopping at a different store, using curbside delivery or ordering online.”
Clifford said while this will not completely protect everyone, it will slow the spread of the virus to a manageable rate to avoid overwhelming our medical facilities.
“If we all do these things voluntarily, we will slow the spread of the virus in our community and help to protect those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19.”
