SAN ANTONIO – The City of San Antonio has issued more than 1,600 warnings and 26 citations of the “Stay Home, Work Safe” order as of Sunday, according to an emergency declaration enforcement report released by city officials.
The public safety orders were originally issued on March 18 in response to the coronavirus epidemic. They remain in effect through April 30.
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The data shows 3,069 calls have been received for violations between Code Enforcement, Center City Development & Operations, Metropolitan Health District and the San Antonio Police Department, which have all been tasked with enforcing the public safety orders.
The 26 citations were given to retail shops, vape and smoke shops and an apartment complex, the data shows. Penalties for businesses include civil fines of up to $2,000.
The most recent citation came from a barber shop in the 100 block of N Ellison Drive on Thursday. When officers arrived, they found an employee cutting someone’s hair. The officer asked the owner for identification, but the owner “refused and became irate,” according to information provided by the city.
More than half of the citations were given to different Planet K locations around San Antonio, a shop that sells tobacco products and paraphernalia.
Four of the citations were handed to the Planet K located at 2130 Austin Highway.
Another Planet K, located at 5619 Evers Road, was issued a citation after receiving seven notifications to close, according to the report. San Antonio police originally ordered the store to close on March 26, the report shows. The citations were issued after the location remained open.
Planet K at 2803 Goliad was issued two citations on Thursday after the “owner refused to close and said he is within his rights to be open,” the emergency declaration enforcement report shows.
Though Planet K is classified as a retail shop under San Antonio police records, it is not exempted from the emergency order nor deemed an essential business.
Health officials were called to the location on March 27 and the store closed that day, according to the report. The business also closed on March 25 after San Antonio police received a phone call that the business was still open.
The report indicates the owner agreed to shut down business on March 25 but remained open.
Planet K at 11202 West Avenue was also issued two citations and, according to the report, this location was given three notifications to close. The report indicates that the manager and employees were not being cooperative with officials.
Another smoke/vape shop, located at 1518 Austin Highway, was issued a citation on Wednesday. Records indicate the store received multiple warnings, including an incident on March 25, where the owner “refused” to close the store. An official with Metropolitan Health District said the owner threatened to “sue my co-worker, myself, and the city.”
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff issued an addendum to the public safety orders Friday, consistent with the executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott on March 31.
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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