CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The stay-at-home orders begins at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales, Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni and Annette Rodriguez with the Health District held their daily joint press conference to further explain the orders and provide updates on city operations affected and testing.
As of yesterday at 4 p.m., the City of Corpus Christi has 14 confirmed cases. This number does not include a nonresident who tested positive earlier this week. 10 are male and 4 are female. Zanoni said 6 of the 14 are in the 40-49 age group and 5 are in the 60-69 age group. The others fall into varied age groups. As of yesterday at 4 p.m., the City tested 33 people.
The city leader says 8 firefighters are under quarantine and being monitored for COVID-19. On March 19, 6 firefighters and paramedics assisted a patient suffering from congestive heart failure. Zanoni says the City learned late Wednesday night that the patient tested postive for COVID-19. Five of the 6 crew members were isolated and the sixth crew member was determined to not have been in close contact with the patient. Since the notification, the City learned the firefighters came into close contact with 2 more crew members. All 8 will be in quarantine until April 2.
Zanoni also provided updates on a couple of city operations. Beaches remain open to the public however there is an 8 p.m. curfew. Beach access is being monitored by Corpus Christi Police Department and officers are checking that vehicles do not park within 100 feet of each other.
Libraries have been closed for several days now, however, they will now offer curbside service. Zanoni says anyone interested in checking out a book or other media can go online to make their selections during normal business hours. The library staff will bring the items to vehicles from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Judge Barbara Canales said that since issuing the orders on Wednesday, many questions have come to her office and to the City. To help with answering the calls, starting Friday at 8 a.m., the city attorney will work with the county attorney to answer questions over the phone. Canales says that she chose the essential businesses and critical infrastructure based on the Homeland Security infrastructure. For those questioning whether they are essential, Canales said "ask yourself if you provide a needed service to those businesses listed on the order."
Annette Rodriguez with the County Health District said the drive-thru testing went smoothly on Thursday morning. 39 tests were completed.
The City will provide updated COVID-19 statistics daily at 4:30 p.m.