City changes continue to be made due to ongoing pandemic

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As of March 29, Freestone County remains outside of the 122 Texas counties with a confirmed case of the coronavirus (COVID-19), but changes continue to be made in lieu of the pandemic.

On Monday, the City of Fairfield offices made two announcements pertaining to the virus. In a special meeting of Fairfield City Council Friday night, the council passed a resolution to postpone the May 2 city election, which covered races for Mayor and council positions.

The election will now take place November 3, in conjunction with state and federal elections.

This postponement comes after an executive order by Governor Greg Abbott, which allowed cities to push back elections due to the ongoing pandemic. The recommendation of the Governor, as well as the city attorney, led to the decision.

“The city feels that postponing the election is better for the safety of the voters and the local election judges,” Mayor Kenneth Hughes said in a statement.

Deadline to register for the election is October 5, with early voting taking place Oct. 19-30.

Another city announcement made Monday was the closing of the kiddie park and basketball court at Fairfield City Park, effective immediately. The venues will be closed until further notice, with the decision made by the city in the interest of public safety.

Mayor Hughes also proclaimed on March 26 that the Fairfield city dump will be open free of charge to residents. The city took advantage of the warmer weather coming into town this past week, with temperatures scheduled to remain in the 70s-and-up most days.

Residents wishing to dump need to bring their water bill as proof of residency. If you are having difficulty, or do not have a water bill available, contact the city at 903- 389-2633.

Fairfield City Hall remains open for contact on any matter at the above number, with City Administrator Nate Smith and City Secretary Misty Richardson available via phone, email at contact@fairfieldtexas.net, or by message on Facebook. With Limestone and Na

With Limestone and Navarro counties already among the 122 Texas counties reporting cases of the coronavirus, Leon has joined the list Sunday night. According to Leon County Emergency Management, a 50-year-old male patient has been confirmed with the virus, with the belief being his case is travel-related. No other details have been released on the case, with the number of Brazos Valley cases increasing to 59 as of the evening of March 29.

Leon County followed with a shelter-in-place order Monday, with details available on the county’s website.

Limestone County is now reporting two cases of the virus, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, with Navarro County reporting three cases.

Wortham Mayor Pellie Goolsby announced a shelter-in-place order Monday, joining Streetman and Teague in issuing such an order. The order is available to read on the Wortham Police Department Facebook page, and contains guidelines similar to ones made from state and county recommendations.

Recommendations under Section III, Shelter and Stay in Place, include:

-People who are sick are urged to stay in their residence except as necessary to seek medical care;

-People may leave their residences only “for essential activities,” to “provide or perform essential government functions,” to “operate essential businesses,” or for “essential travel,” and;

-All public or private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a single household or living unit are prohibited, unless considered one of the above functions.

Essential activites, according to the order, include “tasks essential to a person’s health and safety, or to the health and safety of their family or household members,” such as obtaining essential medical supplies or medication, or visiting with a health care professional.

The list also mentions obtaining necessary services and supplies for persons and their families, outdoor activity with proper social distancing, actions necessary to carry out essential functions, and providing care to family and pets.

The full list of essential businesses is available to read in the order, with the following deemed essential:

-Healthcare operations, including hospitals, clinics, and other facilities;

-Essential government functions, such as state and local agencies;

-Critical infrastructure;

-Essential retail;

-Providers of basic necessities to economically disadvantaged populations;

-Essential services necessary to maintain essential operations of residents or other essiential businesses;

-News media;

-Childcare services;

-Transportation;

-Hotels/Motels, and;

-Manufacture, distribution, and supply chain for critical products and industries, among others.

Additionally, religious services are to be kept to video, teleconference, or online services, if possible.

Teague Mayor James Monks announced a similar order on March 24, with the order going into effect this past week.

There are no current changes in patient testing, as Freestone Medical Center continues to do their best at continuing to fight the virus.

Due to a limited number of swabs available to the medical center, they are only swabbing patients that meet established criteria for COVID-19.

Swabs are then sent to Austin or another national lab for testing.

The national lab is needed for testing due to the complicated nature of the tests, with FMC not having the necessary technology or resources to conduct testing.

FMC will be seeing all acute respiratory type illnesses at the Gold Eye Clinic located at 764 W. Commerce St. Hours will be Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Call 903-389-2181 to make an appointment.

In state news, Gov. Abbott added onto his previous executive order of mandatory 14-day quarantines Monday. On March 26, Abbott issued an executive order mandating 14-day quarantine periods for air travelers flying into Texas from the New York area, as well as from New Orleans.

The order stated that new locations could be added to the list, and a Monday statement included the following locations, with residents mandated to quarantine if they arrived from:

-The state of California;

-The state of Louisiana;

-The state of Washington;

-The city of Atlanta;

-The city of Chicago;

-The city of Detroit, and;

-The city of Miami.

This shall remain in effect as long as the order is in full force, unless otherwise amended by Gov. Abbott.

The 14-day mandated quarantine period was also extended to road travelers from any location in Louisiana.