March 3, 2020 Local Disaster Declaration
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office and the Hall County Government including members from the Office of Emergency Management, Memphis Police and Fire Departments, Hall County EMS, City of Memphis, City of Lakeview and Turkey Fire-EMS have met as a collective group to discuss the COVID-19 virus threat and what our response will be in Hall County. Many layers of preparedness are actively being put in place to meet the needs of our residents. Local officials are receiving updates many times a day as to the ongoing fluid nature of this situation. As of the time of this publication no confirmed cases have been reported in Hall County.
Here are some key points for you to know:
1. Changes have been made pursuant to State of Texas guidelines for jail operations. Visitation has been and will continue to be suspended at the Hall County Jail until the State Declaration is lifted or expires. Access to the jail facility is limited to essential personnel only. We understand this can cause families of those incarcerated difficulty however we are working to mitigate the disruption of this process and assure you that inmates will be allowed to contact you through telephonic processes.
2. The Hall County Courthouse is remaining open for business at this time with some individual offices contained therein operating on an appointment basis. This of course is subject to change at any time as we as a county navigate uncharted waters. We urge you to contact the respective offices you intended to visit prior to making that visit to ensure an appointment is not needed.
3. As of today, Friday March 20, 2020 Hall County Judge Ray Powell as issued a local declaration of disaster in response to COVID-19. The Cities of Turkey, Lakeview and Memphis have also issued local declarations for their respective towns.
4. All emergency response will be available as usual. If you have a life-threatening emergency, call 911. Depending on severity of emergencies will determine which response is appropriate. This decision at this time will be the responsibility of the respective agencies responding.
5. An executive order has been signed by the Governor of the Great State of Texas and goes into effect tonight at midnight and lasts until April 3rd. We urged all residents of Hall County to comply with the requirements set forth in the Governor’s executive order for the safety and well-being of our community.
We encourage everyone to follow the CDC guidelines regarding limiting exposure to potential infection. We ask that you practice social distancing and we recommend hygienic practices. We are a strong community and we are neighbors willing to help neighbors and together we will weather this storm.