BOERNE, Texas – Boerne Mayor Tim Handren has been using social media to stay in touch with his community during the coronavirus pandemic.
Handren has used “Facebook Live,” and he’s also been sending emails for those not connected by Facebook.
“There’s no playbook for this -- when you step into a role as mayor -- that says, 'Here’s how you handle a COVID-19 situation,” Handren said. "So I’ve been working with the communication staff, with the City of Boerne, and we decided two weeks ago that we are going to be communicating every single day to our constituents.”
Handren said those who are watching can pass the word on to their neighbors about things like the importance of using social distancing measures at stores.
“The grocers asked me to call it out yesterday. Guys, let’s go one or two people at a time. Let’s not take the whole family like it’s a family outing," said Handren.
He said the city had to decide to close Boerne City Lake Park because there were too many people gathering this past week.
“Frankly, people were going there. They were congregating in large groups because they’re bored. They’re home, They’re looking for something to do,” said Handren. “They’re going out there to hang out together, and that’s kind of not abiding by the principles that we are all setting.”
As of Tuesday, there are seven confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kendall County. Six out of the seven are travel-related, and one was contracted through close contact. There has been no community-spread, and Handren said he wants to keep it that way.
“I called our (emergency operations center) together,” said Handren. “We’ve had daily meetings with everyone. That includes our county, our school districts, cities of Fair Oaks and Boerne.”
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.
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