SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff have placed the county under a partial curfew through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
The latest addendum to the Declaration of Public Health Emergency for Bexar County implements a curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. each night starting Thursday, November 26 and ending Monday, November 30.
The curfew prohibits residents from gathering outside their homes after 10 p.m., with exceptions made for traveling to essential businesses like grocery stores.
Under the curfew, restaurants must close dine-in food services and seating areas until 6 a.m the following day. Curbside, takeout, and drive-through options are allowed to continue under the curfew.
The order states that those found in violation of the order will be punished with a fine of up to $1,000.
Leaders issued the curfew hours after Texas reported a second consecutive day of record newly-reported coronavirus cases. More than 1.13 million Texans have now contracted COVID-19, including more than 75,000 Bexar County residents.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said, "We have to do the right thing to get through this. We have a situation where we are going up everyday. Our hospitals are getting crowded. We hope this little extra punch will help us get through this critical period of time."
Mayor Ron Nirenberg said this is a dangerous time to be congregating with people outside of your own household.
"The spread is happening through these unregulated behaviors, where people are congregating and it not being governed by any public health guidance," he said.
Judge Wolff said this is a danger point, because cases are going up and our hospital numbers continue to rise. He believes this is not an unreasonable curfew.
Mayor Nirenberg said this is about saving lives.
"It hurts," he said. "It hurts all of us. It hurts us to have to go through the measures. If we don't do that through regulation or good behavior, if we don't do that we are in for a world of hurt as a community."
