What’s an ‘essential business?’ Fort Worth coronavirus mandate sparks confusion
Antique shops and boutiques on Camp Bowie Boulevard are dark. The Trinity Commons parking lot off Hulen Street is deserted. Urgent care centers, auto repair shops and a few financial offices remain open on Fort Worth’s main commercial drags, but the city is slowly shutting down.
Across Fort Worth, the reality of a world closed by the novel coronavirus was setting in after city and county leaders shuttered non-essential retail and other businesses.
But the mandates handed down Saturday and Sunday left some wondering if their work was essential or not. Dozens of Star-Telegram readers inquired through a Google Form about services like landscaping, real estate sales and liquor stores.
At Fort Worth Framers on Camp Bowie, Vinson Lawson opened the shop just like he would on any other Monday morning, flicking the neon “open” sign on as soon as he walked in the door.
He clicked the sign off about 30 minutes later after getting a call directing him to close up, he said. Lawson said he had a few projects to finish, but since the custom frame shop doesn’t take online orders, he expected to run out of work soon.
“I’m not so much worried because I know it’s something that’s not going to last forever,” he said.
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said the simplest answer is if a business doesn’t sell essential household goods like food, medicine and cleaning supplies, or provide an essential service like banking or auto repair, it should close and move functions online.
“We’re asking people to use a little common sense,” Whitley said. “You have to avoid being close to other people.”
Employees at three Fort Worth car dealerships expressed confusion about whether they were essential and directed questions to dealership owners and general managers. As of 4 p.m. Monday messages had not been returned.
Whitley said retail sales at car dealerships must end, but part and service work can continue.
The Evans Vacuum Cleaner Co. store on Camp Bowie will remain open, manager Clint Gray said. Cleaners and cleaning supply companies are exempt under the mandate.
The store sells disinfectants and HEPA vacuum filters. Last week there was a brief panic from customers who rushed in thinking the store would close, but besides that, business has been usual, Gray said. Products can be picked up curbside to avoid person-to-person contact.
Many of the vacuum filters and can be used to make face masks, he said. He said he’s reached out to area hospitals to see if they can use the filters.
“It helps block and catch as much of the virus as possible,” he said.
The county listed examples of non-essential businesses in a press release on Saturday, including malls, spas, tanning salons, event centers, estheticians, bingo halls, private clubs, gyms, retail stores, tattoo shops, hair and nail salons, and massage parlors.
Bars, lounges, taverns and theaters had already been shut down, and restaurants are limited to take-out or delivery.
Whitley said six people in his officer are working to answer calls and emails from business owners and employees who are trying to understand the new mandates. He encouraged people to check with their city code compliance office. While Whitley’s mandate provides a countywide minimum standard, individual cities may enact stricter policies.
In Fort Worth, a COVID-19 hotline is taking calls from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 817-392-8478. People can also email COVID19@fortworthtexas.gov. Suspected violations can be reported to the coronavirus hotline or to the non-emergency police line at 817-392-4222.
County officials and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce have referred inquiries about exemptions to a document from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency specifying which workers are deemed essential to the country’s infrastructure.
The list of critical employees offers a broad view of essential services but does not drill down to specific businesses. It includes workers in the industries of medical and health care, telecommunications, information technology systems, defense, food and agriculture, transportation and logistics, energy, water and wastewater, law enforcement and public works.
Plumbers, electricians, cleaners, pest control and landscaping services are permitted, Whitley said, encouraging those workers to maintain a 6 foot distance between themselves and customers
But real estate agents should not be showing houses, Whitley said. Those who are ready to close on a home purchase can move forward. State legislation passed last year allows home buyers to close on deals without being in the same room as the notary, he said.
Sporting good stores must close, Whitley said. Last week gun shops reported a rush on ammunition and weapons, but Whitley said such purchases are not essential.
“I don’t know how anyone would be able to say that’s essential to being able to survive the virus,” Whitley said.
Cabela’s Fort Worth website Monday afternoon said stores had closed. A store manager at the Grapevine Bass Pro Shop referred questions to a corporate media line. A message and email were not immediately returned. A store manager at the far north Fort Worth Academy Sports and Outdoors said he took a message for the company’s public relations department, but the call was not immediately returned.
Indoor facilities at golf courses and country clubs should be closed, he said, but the course itself may remain open as long as the club can limit the number of golfers per cart.
Liquor sales may not appear essential, but because beer and wine is sold in grocery stores, Whitley said package stores may remain open.
Across Fort Worth, pawn shops, payday loans and other fast lenders remain open. Whitley said these businesses fall under the financial services exemption.
“We know everything we’re doing is creating a financial hardship on a lot of people,” he said. “We think we need to keep open opportunities to get cash or financial assistance.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 5:05 PM.
