(Guadalupe County) — Guadalupe County Judge Kyle Kutscher is sharing more information behind his decision of advising folks to wear face coverings or masks while out in public.
The advisory relating to face coverings was announced and posted by his office Friday afternoon. Kutscher says the advisory is an attempt to help further stop the spread of COVID-19.
“This is an advisory relating to the wearing of face mask and it is titled in such a way that it explains to be at a commercial establishments but we want the public to know this is an advisory. This is not an order that is punishable by a fine. The purpose of the advisory really is to reinforce the fact of how important it is for the public to understand what a crucial point with the number of COVID cases we have in the county and on how important it is to protect yourself and be safe and look out for the best interest of the community,” said Kutscher.
Kutscher says the decision was made after hearing the concerns, challenges and suggestions by other officials across the county.
“We met with all the mayors and had good conversation, talked about some of the challenges like some of the mayors that previously spoke about in public earlier this week but ultimately, it all came to the agreement that this was the best way to move forward at this time but as the governor has said, that if these measures do not work, I think the community could almost expect additional requirements and restrictions to be handed down from the governor and or local governments,” said Kutscher.
Kutscher says he hopes residents on their own will do their part to help cut down on the increase in positive cases.
“We are seeing a substantial increase in the number of COVID positive tests in the county. There is a spike that’s due to different factors. I think one, additional testing but also, the number of people that are catching the virus in the community. The other thing that we’ve been watching and what led to us moving forward with an advisory is the number of increased hospitalizations that we are seeing not only in our community but also in the region. That’s the biggest thing we want to stress in the community is we want to do our part to protect the hospital, the medical community and the folks in our town and in our county,” said Kutscher.
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Kutscher says the wearing of masks will also be encouraged by those entering county offices to conduct daily business. However, he is asking the public to call in advance to see if business can be conducted over the phone or electronically.
In the meantime, to help curb the spread of COVID-19, the city of Seguin has launched its own “Mask Up Seguin” campaign. City officials say they will be doing their own part to also encourage the public to wear masks in hopes of reducing the risk of transmission.