SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio city leaders have released a plan detailing efforts to reopen San Antonio during the coronavirus pandemic.
The 55-page document details the guidelines for reopening, the anticipated phases and the strategies in place. The document can be found here.
The San Antonio City Council and the Bexar County Commissioners Court discussed the details further in a meeting Tuesday afternoon.
"It must be clearly stated that re-opening businesses and other sectors of the economy may increase the risk of COVID-19 in our community," the document says.
To help combat the spread, the city has recommended a phased process:
- Phase 1: Stay Home, Work Safe.
- Phase 2: Staged reopening by risk assessments
- Phase 3: Easing of restrictions in the context of improving conditions
- Phase 4: Pandemic Preparedness
The goals of Phase 1 are to slow the transmission of coronavirus, increase testing capacity, ensure that the healthcare system has the capacity to both safely treat COVID-19 patients and prepare for the next phase.
“We do not get through this without caring for one another," said Barbara Taylor, chair of the Health Transition Team, during Tuesday's presentation. "We must look out for ourselves and for others by doing all the steps we can to reduce infections and to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in our community.”
The goals of Phase 2 include cautiously re-opening activities and businesses while expanding testing and contact tracing abilities. Services may be opened at reduced capacity. The continued risk mitigation includes:
- People who are working successfully from home may continue to do so
- Elderly and those with medical risk factors should still stay home as much as possible.
- Continued limitations to sizes of gatherings, no greater than 50
- Employers should screen employees (temperature checks, symptom questions)
- Employers should continue with masking, hand hygiene and surface cleaning
Phase 2 also suggests opening summer days but keeping overnight camps closed. Outdoors pools are recommended to open as well as playgrounds and skateparks.
Phase 3 eases restrictions further. During this phase, coronavirus cases have decreased. High-risk businesses and enterprises not meeting safety guidelines will receive targeted support, education and restrictions until guidelines are met.
"We recognize reopening San Antonio of any sort requires careful consideration and any situation and will bring risk. We acknowledge that," Taylor said. "But there are ways we can know if we're headed in the right direction."
Phase 4 begins once the coronavirus is no longer a threat to our community. There will be a focus on a city and county crisis plan to maintain protection against the spread of the virus.
"If we are not learning from what is happening, then we are doing a disservice to future generations," Taylor said. "As Mayor Nirenberg said, we are all going to be impacted long-term by the COVID-19 epidemic, and we as health professionals want to do our best to be more ready for the next pandemic.”
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