Everyone knows everyone' in this small Texas town. Now, COVID-19 is out-of-control there.

DEL RIO, Texas — On a sweltering afternoon near the Texas-Mexico border, Ximena Colecio donned a powder blue face-mask before walking to a chain-link fence to hang the hand-made sign clutched in her tiny fingers. Scrawled in bright neon marker, it reads: "For the best teacher. We will miss you."

There were 27 other such signs hanging at Irene C. Cardwell Elementary on July 22, to mourn the loss of Chavell Gutierrez, 55, who died a day earlier from COVID-19.

Chavell Gutierrez isn't the first person to succumb to the virus in this small southwest Texas border town of about 35,000 residents, and officials are certain she won't be the last.

The virus has stretched Del Rio's resources to its limits. As both city and county officials scramble to stop the spread of the disease, local healthcare workers are fighting a war on two fronts — a battle to save their patients' lives and their own

We were at 13 cases for a long time until we got to around June," said Dr. Jaime Gutierrez who serves as the local health authority.

As of Friday, there are 1,163 positive cases of COVID-19 in Val Verde County and 14 deaths, according to state data. Gutierrez said local counts place the number of fatalities much higher. Freezer trucks to store human remains arrived in Val Verde County on July 25.

How many more deaths is it going to take before people decide enough is enough?" Gutierrez asks.

No one in Del Rio knew the answer to that question — but so far, it's not 48. Though many of those deaths are pending review before being classified as COVID-19, all of them died after testing positive for the virus as of July 30, local officials said.

"These people died of COVID-19 pneumonia," Gutierrez explained. "My diagnosis on the death certificates says cause of death is 'pneumonia due to COVID-19'."

'I've never seen anything like it'

Dressed in a dark suit and tie, Rick Robles looked serene for a man who began his workday abruptly at 2 a.m.

"I got that one and another call from the hospital at around 6:45 in the morning," he said. "Some people think (COVID-19) is a hoax. They should spend a day with me."

A lifelong resident of Del Rio, Robles owns and operates Sunset Memorial Oaks Funeral Home where he's also responsible for embalming the dead. COVID-19 is like nothing he's experienced in his 30 years in the funeral industry, and he wishes more people would take the virus seriously. It's 12:28 p.m. on a Thursday, and Robles hasn't had enough time to eat breakfast.

His funeral home averages between 8-10 services a week. That's no longer the case.

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"We've had about 18 (funerals) so far this week," Robles said. "Last week it was 22. It's a spike, and the difference is COVID. ... I've never seen anything like it. The situation with COVID-19 has gotten out of hand in this area."

There is data to support Robles's claim.

Val Verde County's population is slightly above 49,000 residents. Its positive cases match counties more than twice its size.

By July 29 Val Verde County had reported up to 1,163 positive cases. Counties similar in size to Val Verde include Burnet, Kendall and Lamar. There were slightly more than 1,260 cases of COVID-19 between the three on the same date.

Speaking as a funeral director, Robles said one tragedy he's witnessed from COVID-19 is how it's stripped away people's normal ability to seek comfort in one another as they mourn their dead. Chapel and graveside services are limited to 10 people who have to maintain their distance or risk spreading the disease.

"That's hard for families," Robles said. "It's even harder for them to know their loved one passed on by themselves without having (family) there to hold their hand when they shared their last breath."

Alejandra Valadez knows exactly how that feels.

'I don't wish this upon anyone'

"My grandmother was alone when she died. ...There were nurses, but not family," Valadez said.

Dionisia Valadez, 88, had been living in a long-term care facility in Del Rio when staff placed the building on lock-down in March. On July 7, she was rushed into the ICU at Val Verde Regional Medical Care Center. Dionisia tested positive for COVID-19 and Influenza A and B.

Valadez was able to see her grandmother in the hospital, but not in person. She had to use an online video conferencing app, and the conversation was brief. 

"The last time I saw her she wasn't responsive," Valadez said. "I told her I loved her very much, and that we were waiting for her to come home ... She never did."

Five days after being admitted into the ICU, Dionisia Valadez succumbed to the virus on July 12. She was cremated soon after. There was no funeral service.

Valadez said she feels traumatized and infuriated after losing her grandmother to the virus. She wasn't able to hold her grandmother who lay dying in the hospital, and she's upset by the number of people who still aren't wearing masks. She too has a message for those who think COVID-19 is a hoax.

"It's real. It's here. And you don't know who could be a carrier. Wearing a mask could save someone else," Valadez said. "I don't wish this upon anyone. My grandmother helped raise me ... It's hard watching someone you love fighting for their life and not being able to do anything about it."

Valadez continues to urge people to be responsible and do what they can to stop the spread of the virus, a mission shared by city, county, and Del Rio healthcare officials who have likened COVID-19 to a viral hurricane.

County sheriff: 'People need to be mindful'

One institution that has weathered the COVID-19 storm well so far has been the Val Verde County Jail, which hadn't reported a single case of the virus as of July 28, and Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez aims to keep it that way.

"People are dying," Martinez said. "To slow this down, I think people need to be mindful of what's going on around them."

Martinez and officials with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards were cognizant of the virus early on. Since February, inmates at Val Verde County jail have not been allowed to see family members in person. They instead communicate on video through electronic devices. The jail has one entrance, and everyone is screened upon entry for signs of COVID-19.

Fogging machines spray an alcohol-based chemical throughout the facility 2-3 times per week. Border Patrol apprehensions are handled elsewhere and the jail no longer holds misdemeanor offenders. Felony offenders and inmates charged with family violence are placed in a restrictive housing unit where they're closely monitored.

Outside the jail, Martinez said county and city law enforcement agencies have responded to complaints of people who aren't wearing masks, which have included food service employees at restaurants.

"I can't stress enough that we need to be respectful toward one another," Martinez said. "I think people need to be responsible for their actions, and in my opinion, they need to be held accountable for them ...A person who's not respecting someone's space ought to be considered a deadly weapon."

It's Martinez's contention that COVID-19 is so prevalent in Del Rio, that it's impossible to know who's contagious at this point, and not social distancing or wearing a mask could very well kill someone. 

"In the beginning, this community thought that (COVID) was just hype," said Val Verde Chief Deputy Waylon Bullard. "The majority are wearing masks now ...There are still a few who say 'It's my right. I don't have to,' but they're becoming fewer and far between."

One city official said those who insist on not wearing a mask are trying to hold onto some degree of "normal" during a global pandemic, but "normal" is a relative term depending on who you ask.

Del Rio City Mayor: 'Please stay home'

"Everybody's trying to find some kind of normalcy. ... We're never going to go back to how it was before; it's not going to happen," said Del Rio City Mayor Bruno Lozano.

Seated in his office at City Hall, Lozano said he's worried the reason the city's positive cases are so high is because people who are asymptomatic for COVID-19 are passing the virus to older, more susceptible residents at an alarming rate.

Visiting family and friends often is part of Del Rio's small-town culture — something Lozano is now trying to change.

On July 15, he made an urgent request in a video posted to the official City of Del Rio Facebook page asking people to voluntarily stay home for a period of 21 days to limit the spread of the virus.

"We're currently experiencing an emergency crisis like never seen before," Lozano said in the video. He encouraged Del Rio residents to shop online whenever possible, use delivery apps to support local businesses, and if necessary, designate only one family member to go to the grocery store.