Staff Reports

The City of Muleshoe issued a declaration of a local state of disaster Wednesday morning as a precautionary measure to stop the potential spread of COVID-19.

With the proclamation, the city is asking residents not to congregate and to cancel or postpone events with 50 or more people – per guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – for at least the next seven days. The proclamation mentions non-compliance is not punishable, but city officials hope citizens will adhere to the recommendation.

“More than anything, we just want to stay on top of this and try to encourage everybody to do the social distancing and try to stop the spread of coronavirus,” said Zanea Carpenter, city secretary of Muleshoe. 

The World Health Organization has declared the spread of the virus a pandemic and the CDC has issued guidelines – which change frequently – in an attempt to stop the spread.

The guidelines include avoiding crowds of at least 50 people for the next eight weeks. The CDC recommends canceling or postponing any events with 50 or more people in attendance during that period. As a result, major events, concerts and other activities across the country have been canceled or postponed.

Carpenter said the city will reevaluate next week and decide whether to extend the proclamation.