File photo
File photo
Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens Jr. signed a local disaster declaration this month to declare a public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
This immediate declaration will suspend gatherings of 50 or more. Its length will depend on the duration of the pandemic. With the declaration in place, it also activates the emergency plan for Val Verde. A meeting will be held Wednesday to review the current declaration.
“We have so much going on right now, people coming back in from spring break, we have people traveling from out of the country coming here for the maquilas and visiting," Owens told the Rio Del News-Herald. "This is something that all the entities – the school district, the city, the hospital district and the county – are looking at in an attempt to slow this thing down.”
Owens' order also reads that anyone who violates the declaration could receive fines or a jail sentence.
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