SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo revealed more details about their safety measures after two people in Bexar County tested positive for the new UK variant of the coronavirus.
“I think it spreads 30 to 40% faster than the original COVID that we had,” said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. “So we do need to be careful. It’s out there and it spreads very, very, very quickly.”
Now, the rodeo has sent Wolff a letter laying out, in more detail, the safety measures they’ve put in place.
First, all the bathrooms have added touchless features. They have also added new grab-and-go concession stands to ease foot traffic, and the venue's Wi-Fi has been upgraded.
“(That) helps us provide more service and Wi-Fi for all of our touchless and cashless systems that we have throughout the Freeman Coliseum,” said Lauren Sides, public relations manager for the rodeo.
Some safety measures attendees won’t even notice, like the UVC germ-killing lights inside the ventilation systems. What visitors will see are pandemic safety tips on signage and screens throughout the building.
“In addition, we have multiple hand-sanitizing stations, so you’ll see lots of hand sanitizer, but we also have touchless hand sanitizer stations,” Sides said. “Up to about 100 different hand sanitizing stations just inside the Freeman Coliseum alone.”
There will be also be two teams dedicated to cleaning and sanitizing the arena.
The safety measures outlined in the letter to the judge aren’t new compared to last week; it just provides more details.
“At this point, we’re continuing forward with the Safety measures that already go above and beyond the state and local guidelines,” Sides said.