Commissioners to keep COVID-19 emergency declaration, limit powers related to spending

Nueces County commissioners took a step the county judge said signals a "new day" in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has reportedly caused the deaths of nearly 1,300 people in the county.

The Commissioners Court on Wednesday considered ending a county disaster declaration that was first implemented in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

While commissioners unanimously agreed the county should remain under the disaster declaration, the court voted to limit emergency powers related to procurement that are typically afforded to the county judge while an emergency declaration is in effect.

For more than two years, County Judge Barbara Canales and other leaders in Texas have had broad power because of the public health risks of the pandemic to close and open public places, approve contracts and establish emergency shelters, testing sites and vaccine distribution locations.

In Texas, the county judge is the head of county emergency management.

Now, the majority of the court — not solely Canales — would need to vote in favor of emergency procurements related to the county's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Canales said the court has already been doing this for some time.

Rather than outright rescind the disaster declaration, Canales said she and commissioners agreed to keep it in place in order to not hinder the county's chance at partial reimbursements for COVID-related spending.

Canales said the county's response to COVID-19 is ongoing, asking the community not to misinterpret the court's action on Wednesday for the pandemic ending.

"Today, while we were in court, we had an additional COVID death — a person in their 50s, no comorbidities," Canales said. "I do believe the spirit of today is to make certain we do not — and I repeat, do not — hinder our own reimbursements as we have ongoing activity with COVID-19."

The court's decision comes the same week Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told The Associated Press the U.S. has entered "a different moment" of the pandemic.

Fauci told the news service that though the pandemic is not over, COVID-19 is better under control nationally.

More: Texas family waits for recourse after 21-year-old's rare, severe reaction to COVID-19 vaccine

COVID-19 cases are at a low point compared to recent months and two-thirds of the U.S. population is vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

In Texas, 77% of the population above 5 years of age in Texas has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday. More than 65% are fully vaccinated, according to Texas Department of State Health Services data.

Nueces County is below the state's average vaccination rate, reporting that 70.4% of county residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 60.9% are fully vaccinated.

To date, Nueces County has reported 61,125 total cases and 1,266 deaths due to COVID-19, according to state data.

Should COVID-19 numbers rise and the public health risk increase, Canales said she would approach the court to regain those powers concerning procurement.

"There are reasons (those powers) exist, and they are good reasons," she said.

Commissioners directed the county attorney, Jenny Dorsey, to draft a document outlining the agreement passed by the court as soon as possible.

Chase Rogers covers local government and industry in South Texas. Contact him at chase.rogers@caller.com or on Twitter @chasedrogers. You can support local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Commissioners keep COVID-19 emergency declaration, limit powers