Why No 'Shelter In Place' Was Issued In San Angelo

SAN ANGELO, TX — “The trajectory of the number screened and tested and results,” Tom Green County Judge Steve Floyd said, when asked what conditions would prompt a shelter in place order in the county.

“If those percentages [have to] turnaround and go the other way. Those numbers have been trending fairly comfortably for me,” the judge said.

As the county judge, Floyd is the head of all emergency management for this county. That is why we are witnessing county judges in Texas making decisions about shelter in place in other counties like Dallas, McClennan (Waco), Brazos (College Station), Travis, Williamson, and Bexar.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins kicked off a slew of shelter in place orders across the state when he issued the first order for Dallas County on Sunday and challenged other counties to follow his lead.

“I don’t want the virus, but I don’t have a fear of it. I have a healthy respect for it. And I’m of that age group that’s supposedly in the target class,” Floyd said.

He said by the time Tom Green County saw or felt the impact of the sickness numbers here, the decision to shelter in place would probably have already been ordered statewide by the governor.

“I can’t speak to what other county judges — and I think there’s a city or two, their mayors — [see] about what it looks like on the ground [to them]. But one of the county judges confided that she was not getting any cooperation from her citizens on compliance on an order that was very similar to what we issued over the past few days. Their citizens were ignoring it,” Floyd said.

In Tom Green County, “It’s in the citizens’ hands if we get anything further (more restrictions),” Floyd said.

The second component of his decision to not order shelter in place was because many types of businesses that are exempt from the order in accordance with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security mean shelter in place would not have much impact here.

“There’s a lot of the population that is exempted from those (shelter in place) orders. It seems like we’re already nearly at that level,” Floyd said.

Floyd noted that San Angelo Mayor Brenda Gunter and the San Angelo City Council have their own decision to make about shelter in place orders for just those residing inside the city limits.

“I think it’s more symbolic than it is a practical application,” Floyd said because of the myriad of exempt businesses in an area under shelter in place orders.

Also Tuesday, the City of San Angelo closed nail and hair salons as well as tattoo parlors. Shannon CEO Shane Plymell explained the costs of the drive-through testing for COVID-19 and Dr. James Vretis, the county’s top doctor, talks about the first COVID-19 case detected in the county. Watch the video above for more.