By Jasper Scherer STAFF WRITER
The city of Houston will deploy health inspectors to enforce COVID-19 restrictions at the Texas Republican Convention and potentially shut down the event if guidelines aren’t followed, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday.
In a letter to Texas GOP executive director Kyle Whatley, Turner on Monday laid out a series of conditions the party would have to follow if it proceeds with an in-person convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center from July 16 to 18. The guidelines are aimed at limiting the transmission of COVID when an anticipated 6,000 people descend on the convention center.
Those conditions, according to Turner’s office, include denying entry to anyone who has tested positive for COVID or come in contact with a COVID patient between July 2 and July 15, requiring attendees to wear masks, and providing touchless hand sanitizing stations throughout the convention center.
Party officials also must limit attendance and seating capacity “or host smaller events in larger rooms,” and modify room layouts to “promote social distance of at least 6 feet.” The mayor’s letter did not include a specific cap on how many people can attend the convention.
Turner also said he is “strongly encouraging” the Texas GOP to call off the in-person convention, which he said is the only conference or convention in Houston that has not been canceled or rescheduled for next year.
“I believe canceling the in-person convention is the responsible action to take while we are in a critical moment in our battle against the COVID-19 pandemic,” Turner said. “I’ve not yet talked to a medical professional who has said that this is a good idea to hold this convention at this time.”
Echoing Turner’s message, Houston public health authority David Persse said “the wise, prudent thing to do would be for the Texas GOP to reconsider their position” to hold the event in person.
Last week, the Texas Republican Party’s executive committee voted by a 2-to-1 margin to carry on with an in-person convention, despite concerns raised by local officials and some party members about a local spike in COVID cases.
The Texas Medical Association, a nonprofit medical society of about 53,000 physicians and students, and the Texas Craft Brewers Guild both pulled their sponsorships following the vote. Turner on Monday called on other convention sponsors to urge the Texas GOP to cancel the event.
Party officials already have said they will use thermal scanners to check people’s temperature at entryways and conduct deep cleanings between meetings, among other safety precautions. Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey also has said attendees will be required to follow Gov. Greg Abbott’s order requiring Texans to wear masks in most public settings, though the executive committee last week voted down an amendment requiring face coverings, creating some uncertainty about the party’s intent to comply.
In a podcast published by the Texas GOP Monday, Dickey said the convention would be “many, many times safer than the tens of thousands of people who just weeks ago marched through the streets of Houston,” a reference to the June 2 protest following George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. An estimated 60,000 people, including Turner, attended the outdoor event.
Though Turner has now called for the Texas Republican Party to call off the convention on at least two separate occasions, he has not stepped in and canceled the event himself. Last month, the mayor ordered the cancellation of all events of more than 50 people in city-owned buildings, before striking that provision from his COVID executive order.
Turner has yet to say why he changed his order to allow such events, though he explained last week that he does not want to cancel the convention because doing so would politicize the situation.
The ban on 50-person events would have applied to the GOP convention, as the city owns the George R. Brown Convention Center. jasper.scherer@chron.com