City and County Issues Updated Order Limiting Public and Private Gatherings

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – Earlier today, Judge Barbara Canales and Mayor Joe McComb assisted by City Manager Peter Zanoni signed and issued a new Order regarding limitations to public and private gatherings. To curb the potential spread of COVID-19 and reduce the risk to the public, the updated Order will prohibit all indoor and outdoor gatherings within an enclosed space of 250 persons or more in the City of Corpus Christi and in Nueces County beginning immediately and continuing for the next six days. The prior Order authorized on Saturday, March 14 had a 500 person limit.

 

The Order comes upon updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to limit mass gatherings. Exceptions to the declaration include: 

    • Public or private schools;

    • Use of enclosed spaces where 250 or more people may be present at different times during the day as long the 250 or more people are not present at the space during the same time.

    • Gatherings of people in multiple, separate enclosed spaces in a single building if 250 people are not present in any single space.

    • Office space, hotels or residential buildings.

    • Grocery stores, shopping malls, outdoor markets or retail establishments where large numbers of people are present, but it is unusual for them to be within arm’s length of one another for extended periods of time.

    • Hospitals, medical facilities and shelters.

    • Jails and detention centers.

    • Corpus Christi International Airport.

 

New to the Order with today’s authorization of it is the following:

 

It is highly recommended that persons should avoid gatherings in excess of 50 persons. It is recommended that organizations should cancel gatherings in excess of 50 persons. Persons in high-risk populations should avoid gatherings in excess of 10 persons. Organizations that serve primarily high-risk persons should cancel gatherings in excess of 10 persons. High-risk persons include:

    • 60 years old and older.

    • People with certain health conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease and weakened immune systems.

    • People who are pregnant or were pregnant in the last two weeks

    • People experiencing homelessness.