As precautions continue to be taken around the country and around the world to slow down the spread of coronavirus, local events and institutions have also felt the effects. While there are still no reported cases of the virus in Kerr County, government officials, healthcare industry leaders, and private enterprise continue preparations and responses to the problem.
Schools
Kerrville ISD dismissed students for spring break on Friday afternoon with plans to monitor the situation over the holiday and update parents and students again on Thursday, March 19. The district will clean its campuses over the break and have been monitoring the travel plans of students and teachers to help mitigate the risks when classes resume.
The organization that sets rules for school sports and other competitions, the University Interscholastic League (UIL), issued a directive that all UIL-sponsored events are canceled beginning on Monday, March 16, through March 29. School sports including soccer, baseball, and track are affected, and athletes should check in with their coaches to find out about practice schedules and adjusted competition schedules.
Schreiner University made the decision to remain open and to continue classes after spring break on March 23. However, if a state or federal agency mandates closing, Schreiner will honor that directive. The Schreiner Diner is currently closed to the public, but students can still enter the diner with their ID card.
Stores
HEB continues to feel the strain of the highly increased demand for certain products. Customers reported on social media Saturday morning that the stores were again sold out of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, and some other items were in short supply.
The official HEB Twitter account posted the following:
HEB has also initiated purchasing limits on certain products.
Hospitals
Peterson Health continues to closely monitor the situation in Kerr County. Officials briefed City Council on Tuesday and will again appear before the council on Tuesday morning.
The hospital has setup a website to provide information to the public about the virus: https://www.petersonhealth.com/covid-19/
On March 13, the hospital began screening visitors to the facility, and has asked for the community’s help in limiting the number of visitors to the hospital. This step was implemented as part of the state emergency declaration issued by Governor Abbott.
So far, no tests for coronavirus have been conducted in Kerr County. A mobile testing station has been setup in San Antonio but is not open to the general public — only first responders and qualified healthcare workers.
Events
Many events proceeded as planned this week, and many more are still on schedule as planned. The Kerr County United Way went ahead with a planned 5K run on Saturday morning. Other event planners have said they are monitoring the instructions from state and local officials and will make decisions as the event dates approach. As mentioned above, all UIL activities have been canceled from March 16-29.
Local Government
Kerrville City Council will hold a workshop on Tuesday morning to review the situation and potentially take action, if needed.
Kerr County Commissioners will meet Monday morning and will review the county’s event policies. An earlier agenda item included discussion and action to potentially host some of the canceled Houston Stock Show events, but county officials now say that is unlikely. Agenda and addendum to agenda.
The City of Kerrville and Kerr County have partnered with Peterson Health to “enhance coronavirus information efforts” following Abbott’s declaration of disaster. According to a statement from the City of Kerrville:
“…on Monday the city and its partners will consolidate their operations in a joint emergency operations center with the continued purpose of protecting the health of our citizens. The task force will also be setting up an open phone line to answer questions from citizens regarding the coronavirus.”
Courts
According to local District Attorney Lucy Wilke:
Updates
KU will continue to post updates as important information is released. Follow us on Twitter @KerrvilleUnited.
