Parker County reconsiders stance on gatherings after mask order ignored during rodeo
Parker County officials are reconsidering their stance on gatherings after fans ignored social distance guidelines and failed to wear face coverings during last week’s rodeo in Weatherford.
Parker County Judge Pat Deen said the county did everything it could to encourage people to comply with Gov. Greg Abbott’s order during the Parker County Sheriff’s Posse Frontier Days and PRCA Rodeo, which ran from July 7-11. There were signs and public address announcements, and attendees were given face coverings, Deen said.
Deen said Parker County and Weatherford officials will be meeting to discuss whether a rodeo scheduled for September should be allowed.
“If we cannot put those people in safe positions that event will not happen,” he said.
Deen said members of the Parker County public safety team were present during last week’s event, but he is not aware of any citations. Additional fire and safety personnel were assigned as officials became aware that people were not following Abbott’s order, including Parker County Emergency Management Coordinator Sean Hughes. Hughes did not respond to messages.
“It was difficult to maintain compliance once the event wore on,” Deen said. “There were pictures that were taken that showed there was some non-compliance. We will learn from that. We were trying to be proactive, yet not overreact.”
Parker County case spike
Parker County had recorded 556 COVID-19 cases as of Saturday, which included 341 recoveries and 214 active cases. There were fewer than 100 in the county before Memorial Day.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the highest risk for COVID-19 spread is large in-person gatherings where it is difficult for people to remain at least six feet apart or with attendees who traveled from outside the area.
On July 2, Abbott restricted the size of outdoor gatherings to 10 and required people in public to wear face coverings. But he allowed for exceptions to the limits on gatherings if county officials approved.
Large gatherings allowed in Parker County
Deen signed a proclamation July 7 allowing Parker County residents to have outdoor gatherings up to 100 people and allowed gatherings of more than 100 people in unincorporated county areas with his approval.
An official with Medical City Weatherford and one with Texas Health Resources, which operates Texas Health Willow Park, did not directly respond to questions about whether they were concerned about the effect the public events would have on COVID-19 case counts.
“To maintain a safe environment of care, protect our patients and our labor force in the face of this growing pandemic, it is vitally important that our communities practice scientifically proven methods to slow the spread of COVID-19 by social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks,” said Tommy Dold, Medical Center Weatherford spokesman, when asked if recent Parker County gatherings could trigger a spike in cases.
This month’s Parker County Peach Festival was canceled, a move Deen said he agreed with, but several festival-related activities were held and more are scheduled through Saturday, according to the festival website.
“Due to concerns of large gatherings and safety protocols the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors was very proactive in canceling the 36th Annual Peach Festival,” Nicole Wright, a city of Weatherford spokeswoman, wrote in an email. “The Peach Festival welcomed nearly 60,000 people to historic downtown in 2019, making logistics planning for 2020 impossible.“
The city of Weatherford’s Fourth of July celebration exceeded state and federal safety guidelines, Wright wrote.
“As the economic hub for Parker County we understand that cases might appear as high, but that is not the whole truth,” the statement said. “We have an internal response team that is working with the County to keep an eye on case counts in the county and in our city. We are proud to showcase that we are still able to offer quality of life events while still maintaining standards above what the Governor and the CDC are requiring.”
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
