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By Arelis R. Hernandez
The Washington Post
LAREDO — Leaders in this border city have implemented some of the strictest coronavirus control measures of any in America — with curfews, anti-gathering orders and a requirement to wear masks — seeing themselves as the first line of defense in protecting the nation's most important commercial corridor.
With four bridges and a rail line bringing goods into the country from Mexico, Laredo is the fulcrum of a delicate supply chain that generates billions of dollars in trade and brings crucial supplies, including produce and medical and electrical equipment, into the country.
From here, via Interstate 35, most everything that crosses the border goes north to San Antonio, and then to points across the country, stocking shelves from California to New York and everywhere in between. City officials worry that viral spread in Laredo could mean a threat to the entire nation, as products, trucks and their drivers disperse along the highways.
Eleven virus-related deaths here in the past 19 days — including a one-week span with six deaths — have pushed Laredo and its surrounding county to the highest death toll of any Texas border community. It has the city of approximately 260,000 worried that the disease could consume limited resources and perhaps lead to a devastating shutdown of operations. The lack of testing — less than 1 percent of residents have been tested thus far — and fears of a slow response to the virus in densely populated Mexico create additional concerns.
Most of the more than 200 positive cases in Laredo were transmitted locally, said Hector Gonzalez, the director of the city’s health department. He said it is critical for Laredo to get its outbreak under control because of the outsize effect that spread here could have on the country.
“We were proactive in doing things that were not being done yet in most of the country because we are trying to prevent this thing from getting out of control and taking more lives,” said Victor Trevino, the Laredo Health Department’s health authority. “We have very few weapons and are making do with what we have to protect our city and the country’s No. 1 land port. We are balancing our health with the business of the country.”
While some parts of rural middle America have not yet instituted stay-at-home orders or social distancing, Laredo’s City Council acted as it saw its first cases in late March, implementing curfews and threatening residents with fines of up to $1,000 if they didn’t cover their faces with masks when out in public. Police have been breaking up backyard parties and monitoring homes where too many cars are parked.
Truck drivers are no longer permitted to get out of their cabs at U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoints, and they drop their cargo in Laredo warehouses without touching the merchandise. Warehouse workers are wearing protective equipment, and companies are staggering shifts to keep a small number of people working at any time.
Mayor Pete Saenz Jr. (D) said he sees it all as preventive management.
“No one knows where this thing is going to take us,” Saenz said. “The only tool we have is isolation. Once it surpasses us, we’ve lost the battle.”
With four bridges and a rail line bringing goods into the country from Mexico, Laredo is the fulcrum of a delicate supply chain that generates billions of dollars in trade and brings crucial supplies, including produce and medical and electrical equipment, into the country.
From here, via Interstate 35, most everything that crosses the border goes north to San Antonio, and then to points across the country, stocking shelves from California to New York and everywhere in between. City officials worry that viral spread in Laredo could mean a threat to the entire nation, as products, trucks and their drivers disperse along the highways.
Eleven virus-related deaths here in the past 19 days — including a one-week span with six deaths — have pushed Laredo and its surrounding county to the highest death toll of any Texas border community. It has the city of approximately 260,000 worried that the disease could consume limited resources and perhaps lead to a devastating shutdown of operations. The lack of testing — less than 1 percent of residents have been tested thus far — and fears of a slow response to the virus in densely populated Mexico create additional concerns.
Most of the more than 200 positive cases in Laredo were transmitted locally, said Hector Gonzalez, the director of the city’s health department. He said it is critical for Laredo to get its outbreak under control because of the outsize effect that spread here could have on the country.
“We were proactive in doing things that were not being done yet in most of the country because we are trying to prevent this thing from getting out of control and taking more lives,” said Victor Trevino, the Laredo Health Department’s health authority. “We have very few weapons and are making do with what we have to protect our city and the country’s No. 1 land port. We are balancing our health with the business of the country.”
While some parts of rural middle America have not yet instituted stay-at-home orders or social distancing, Laredo’s City Council acted as it saw its first cases in late March, implementing curfews and threatening residents with fines of up to $1,000 if they didn’t cover their faces with masks when out in public. Police have been breaking up backyard parties and monitoring homes where too many cars are parked.
Truck drivers are no longer permitted to get out of their cabs at U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoints, and they drop their cargo in Laredo warehouses without touching the merchandise. Warehouse workers are wearing protective equipment, and companies are staggering shifts to keep a small number of people working at any time.
Mayor Pete Saenz Jr. (D) said he sees it all as preventive management.
“No one knows where this thing is going to take us,” Saenz said. “The only tool we have is isolation. Once it surpasses us, we’ve lost the battle.”
To read rest of article, click on link: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/17/laredo-strict-coronavirus-measures-coronavirus/
3 comments:
forget corona
why so many murders in laredo
Laredo is the rectum of Texas... nobody gives a fuck about this cesspool of humanity.
Just came from downtown. Dollar Tree and El Gran Mercado OPENED. Dollar tree has strict one, two people inside measures. El Gran Mercado people in line with distancing. My question, are they from Matamoros?
Mr. Montoya: Do you happen to know where is the Red Wagon place located? I know they are the ones that distribute food to the homeless but if you want to take them food cans or water, where is their main place?
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