LLANO COUNTY PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
OFFICE OF January 11, 2021
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
COVID-19 (New Coronavirus)
Llano, TX- 5:00 PM-
On October 7, 2020, Governor Abbott issued Executive Order Number GA-32 which stipulates thresholds for Trauma Service Areas (TSA) with high hospitalizations. These stipulations specifically impact hospitals conducting elective surgeries and businesses within each DSHS Trauma Service Area. Llano County resides in TSA-O which also includes Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, San Saba, Travis, and Williamson counties.
On January 10, 2021 the Llano County Judge was notified by the Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner, Dr. John Hellerstedt that DSHS Trauma Service Area-O has had seven consecutive days in which the number of COVID-19 hospitalized patients as a percentage of total hospital capacity has exceeded 15%.
When a TSA meets or exceeds 15% for seven consecutive days it is classified as a high hospitalization TSA. At that time, DSHS notifies the county judges in the region of the following limits:
- Hospitals must suspend elective surgeries, but there are exceptions for procedures that “would not deplete any hospital capacity needed to cope with the COVID-19 disaster.”
- Most businesses drop from 75% capacity to 50% capacity. This includes restaurants, retail stores, gyms, offices, museums, libraries, amusement parks, swimming pools, amusement parks, zoos, aquariums, and similar facilities. All professional and college athletics events are already limited to 50% capacity. There are no capacity limits for a limited number of businesses including schools, religious services, and child-care services.
- Bars and other establishments with 51% alcohol sales must close. This overrides any previous exceptions allowing bars to operate at 50% capacity.
Although GA-32 allows county judges to submit an attestation to DSHS to operate at 75 percent, the county must have fewer than 30 cases reported over the last 14 days. At this time, Llano County does not meet this threshold; therefore, effective January 11, 2021, all businesses operating in Llano County must comply with GA-32.
Governor Abbott’s GA-32 can be found at
https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/EO-GA-32_continued_response_to_COVID-19_IMAGE_10-07-2020.pdf
DSHS has additional information on COVID-19 for the public, health care professionals, health departments, and labs at www.dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus
For additional information regarding Llano County’s preparation and response, please see www.co.llano.tx.us or contact Emergency Management Coordinator- Gilbert Bennett at 325-247-2039 or email at: gbennett@co.llano.tx.us