Tarrant County judge changed course on stay-at-home order in one day. Here’s why.
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley had a telephone conference call on Sunday with hospital executives.
He said he asked them: “Are we ready to basically say stay home?”
The answer that day, he said, was no.
That’s why Whitley said he wasn’t ready to issue such an order, even as nearby Dallas County officials were, with the goal of slowing the spread of the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.
By Monday morning, Whitley said hospital officials had changed their minds.
That’s when “they were beginning to say, ‘we’ve got to do this,’” Whitley told reporters after Tarrant County Commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday a five-page executive order calling on residents to stay at home until April 7 except for critical work and errands.
Shortly after commissioners took the vote, saying they knew the stay at home order would be hard and painful for some, Public Health Director Vinny Taneja said there were 67 active cases in Tarrant County, and one COVID-19 death and three recoveries.
Of the Tarrant cases, at least 19, or 27%, are community spread, which means the people infected did not travel recently or interact with anyone they knew had the disease.
“Does that mean we have everybody running around the county with COVID-19?’ Taneja asked. “That’s not the case.
“But this is a significant trigger.”
‘Stay at home’
Whitley said the decision to order residents to stay at home was not a decision he, or county commissioners, took lightly.
“As a small business owner myself, I know what taking this action will mean to so many local people. But as a county judge, I also know what not taking this action will mean,” he said. “And while the economic challenges that will accompany this policy will be difficult, we can recover economically.
“But the health care challenges are far more important and the consequences are far more serious. We simply must flatten the curve and save lives. No amount of economic activity is worth the loss of life.”
Commissioner Roy Brooks said the directive is clear: “Stay at home. Any other interpretation is not welcome. Stay at home unless you meet one of the exceptions that is explicitly spelled out in the order.”
The order states that anyone working for an “essential business,” ranging from health care to law enforcers to transportation to solid waste collection may continue to go to work. Grocery stores and pharmacies are among the businesses that will remain open, along with, for instance, restaurants that provide food for carry out, drive-through or delivery.
“The sacrifices that we are asking you to make, and that we are committed to making ourselves ... are all for the public good,” Brooks said. “If we can do this thing for the next two to four weeks, we have a chance of getting ahead of this virus and knocking it down quickly so that it does not root in our community and threaten to do permanent damage to our health, the health of our families, the health of our community, the health of our economy.”
Commissioner Devan Allen said she understands how the loss of income will affect some residents.
“I know what it’s like to have utilities cut off, to eat spoiled food, ... to wear dirty clothes,” she said. “We know the measures we are taking are going to cause suffering. We hope in the end there will be less suffering than if we did nothing at all.”
And she apologized to any Asian Americans and Chinese residents who are suffering racism because Wuhan, China, is the city at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, where cases were first discovered and announced. “I encourage everyone ... to practice kindness when it comes to those who are encountering continuing racism and the new racism,” Allen said.
Tuesday’s county meeting followed one earlier in the day where Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price issued a stay at home order.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has resisted a statewide “shelter in place” order, noting that city and county leaders across Texas are in charge of determining what is necessary in their communities.
During an emergency meeting Sunday, Tarrant County Commissioners debated a shelter in place order during an emergency meeting, but did not take action. They voted to close non-essential businesses until at least April 5 and put in place civil penalties against those who violate the emergency orders.
Non-essential businesses include hair and nail salons, malls, retail stores and massage parlors. Bars, lounges, taverns and theaters were shut down earlier and restaurants already have been limited to delivery or take-out. Businesses that won’t be closed include grocery stores, pharmacies and businesses offering healthcare services.
This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 2:11 PM.
