Fort Worth residents will be told to stay at home to cut coronavirus transmissions
Fort Worth residents will be told to stay home Tuesday except for critical work and errands.
Mayor Betsy Price is expected to make the announcement formally in the morning when the orders are to be signed along side Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, the city said in a statement. During a Monday afternoon Facebook Live briefing Price alluded to further restrictions related to curbing the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and noted Gov. Greg Abbott has left Texas’ cities and counties in charge to determine if “shelter in place” orders are necessary.
“Y’all stay safe, y’all stay healthy, and y’all stay home,” Price said during the briefing.
Price participated in a call with mayors and county judges from Texas’ major cities early Monday, she said. That call focused on ways to mitigate the spread of the virus in urban areas, and officials would be making a coordinated announcement Tuesday morning, she said. Officials in other large Texas cities Monday said shelter in place orders were in the works.
“We know that urban communities are denser in population and people are at greater risks for significant spikes in the transmission of this virus,” Price said. “That has the potential to overwhelm our health care system.”
Tarrant County Commissioners debated a shelter in place order during an emergency meeting Sunday, but did not take action. Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley did not immediately return a call for comment Monday evening.
Dallas County residents were ordered to stay home Sunday except for work and essential errands. The “Stay Home Stay Safe” order, which will go into effect at 11:59 p.m. Monday and last until April 3, instructs residents to avoid all nonessential outings and stay inside as much as possible.
Buying groceries, picking up medicine and going for a walk are allowed under Dallas County’s order. Public or private gatherings outside of a person’s house are not permitted unless they are 6 feet away from one another.
McKinney Mayor George Fuller and Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney said in Facebook posts Monday afternoon that Collin County would also make a shelter in place order.
Residents in Bexar County and San Antonio will be ordered to stay home except to make essential trips as officials increase efforts to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Express News reported Monday. A similar order is being prepared for Austin and Travis County, the Statesman reported, and Harris County officials drafted tighter restrictions over the weekend, according to the Houston Chronicle.
While Tarrant County Commissioners Roy Brooks and Devan Allen urged the county to follow Dallas’s lead Sunday, Judge Glen Whitley disagreed, saying tougher restrictions issued over the weekend would be enough.
“We think we need to give that a little bit of time to see how to proceed,” Whitley said after Sunday night’s meeting.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Fort Worth residents will be told to stay at home to cut coronavirus transmissions."
