Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Judge Nelson Wolff have placed a curfew prohibiting people from gathering outside their homes from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. beginning Thanksgiving Day and lasting through Monday morning. Exceptions apply to people seeking services from a business, according to a city press release.
Violators could be punished with a $1,000 fine.
During normal times, this is the weekend that kickoffs the holiday season in San Antonio, when thousands of locals flock downtown to take in the H-E-B Christmas tree, the River Walk, and other light displays.
These aren’t normal times as Covid-19 cases continue to rise locally, and as temperatures are expected to drop on Thanksgiving Day.
The holiday tree lighting ceremony at Travis Park will be shown virtually on H-E-B’s Youtube channel. Thought, undoubtedly, many will make the trip downtown for a selfie in front of the 50-foot Concolor Fir.
During curfew hours, restaurants will be required to close for dining service from 10 p.m. to 6 p.m. They may continue drive-thru, curbside or takeout services after 10 p.m.
“The last two surges in cases followed holiday weekends; in this case, the numbers are already increasing exponentially, so the Judge and I decided to impose a curfew to limit the spread over the Thanksgiving holiday,” Nirenberg said in a press release. “We are counting on each and every San Antonian to take personal responsibility for protecting themselves and others.”
The moves comes as local leaders have resorted to pleading with San Antonians to stay at home as the holiday season begins to kick off. At the same time, Nirenberg has said he’s ramping up enforcement on business who violate the local Covid-19 order.
Heron Editor Ben Olivo can be reached at 210-421-3932 | ben@saheron.com | @rbolivo on Twitter