TAHOKA, Texas — The Texas National Guard helped the city of Tahoka do free COVID-19 testing on Thursday and Friday at the old Lyntegar Building behind Tahoka City Hall.
Thursday the city mandated a stay-at-home order after a recent increase in the number of coronavirus. As of Friday, there were a total of eighteen cases in Lynn County.
John Baker, the Mayor of Tahoka, said the decision to issue the stay-at-home order was not easy.
“Governor Abbott has opened up the state as much as possible. We are trying to follow those guidelines and follow that order from him,” he said. “We also need to keep our citizens safe because our situation might be different than it is in our next-door neighbors.”
Mayor Baker said a lot of the cases have been due to people traveling outside of the city. He said it is not uncommon for residents travel to other cities for work and he urges those residents to take extra precaution.
“If they’ve got to go to work I understand but please wear a mask and please wash your hands and please socially distance as [much as] possible,” he said.
Maribel Perez has been a resident of Tahoka for her whole life and she said she’s concerned about the growing number of cases in her city.
“It’s scary with so many people coming down with it and just not wanting to really leave the house at all,” she said. “This is a tiny town and I’m scared that it’s gong to spread very very quickly with it being so tiny.”
She said she’s glad her city is taking necessary precautions to keep people safe.
“I do think that was a wise decision just to try to bring it down and this right now, the testing was fantastic idea,” She said. “[It is] very appreciated.”
