Commissioners Extend State Disaster Declaration

In a special meeting called for Monday at the Gaines County Courthouse, the Gaines County Commissioner's Court voted to keep in place all guidelines in Governor Greg Abbott's most recent Disaster Declaration for the state of Texas. This is the 17th iteration to the original Declaration released in March, 2020, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in Texas.

Due to glitches in online access to the meeting, some of those logged in via the Zoom application were put on hold for approximately the first 20 minutes, and were only able to access the meeting for approximately two minutes that included the unanimous vote by commissioners to extend the declaration in its current form.

"We encourage people to follow the guidelines," County Judge Tom Keyes told attendees before online access to the meeting again fell silent. The meeting adjourned shortly thereafter.

As of Friday, October 2, Gaines County had eight new cases of novel coronavirus, according to the South Plains Public Health District, bringing the total in the county to 379. Of those, 303 have recovered, and 69 remain active. Gaines County has experienced seven fatalities that can be attributed to the virus.

The SPPHD also released the following data for surrounding counties served by the district:

Dawson County total COVID-19 cases: 503

16 new cases confirmed 140 Active

140 Active

357 Recovered

6 Deaths

Terry County total cases: 286

17 new cases confirmed

55 Active

228 Recovered

3 Deaths

Yoakum County total cases: 258

8 new cases confirmed

58 Active

196 Recovered

4 Deaths

Lynn County total cases: 110

1 new case confirmed

18 Active

88 Recovered

4 Deaths