LUBBOCK, Texas — Mayor Dan Pope praised the citizens of Lubbock on Tuesday for taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously.
The city has reported smaller numbers of new cases in the past few days, and Mayor Pope attributes it to Lubbockites social distancing properly.
“We interpreted the governor’s order literally,” Pope said. “Some of our regional neighbors chose not to do so. They’d like to be in the position we’re in today. And I believe it’s because the citizens of Lubbock took this seriously.”
While he’s been impressed with how Lubbock has handled the situation so far, Pope admits that the work is not yet finished.
“We’ve got to continue to do the right thing so we can prosper,” Pope said.
He added that he did not just mean for businesses to prosper, but also for people to go back to living their normal lives.
Pope also believes that Lubbock was ahead of the curve in how it handled its senior living facilities. On March 29, the city instituted new guidelines for Lubbock nursing homes.
Related story: City of Lubbock orders new guidelines for nursing homes
“A lot of what you see from the state, I might add finally, on some of these senior living facilities, is what we’ve been doing here,” Pope said. “Our folks are actually in conversations with the CDC about what we’ve learned.”
Moreover, Pope had some choice words for Governor Greg Abbott and the state government.
Abbott announced Monday that the state’s plan to reopen would begin May 1, with restaurants, movie theaters and malls able to reopen to 25 percent capacity.
Pope expressed his displeasure that he would not be able to make more of the decisions regarding how Lubbock reopens.
“We were encouraged a month ago, six weeks ago to take the lead and do the best things for our communities,” Pope said. “Well, the keys were taken away. That’s the governor’s prerogative.”
