Fort Worth residents should expect to stay home through April to combat coronavirus
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said Tuesday she expects the city council will extend the local disaster declaration, which has closed non-essential businesses and ordered residents to stay home, through the end of April.
The Fort Worth City Council is expected to vote on the extension April 7, the day the current declaration is set to expire.
Fort Worth and Tarrant County joined Texas’ most populous regions last week in ordering residents to stay home. Those combined orders account for 70% of the state’s population and follow a decision by Gov. Greg Abbott to leave shelter-in-place orders at the discretion of local authorities.
The city and county first declared a state of disaster due to coronavirus on March 13, closing bars and restaurants. Each has continued to tighten restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus. The city and county ordered non-essential businesses to close March 21, sparking confusion about what makes a business essential.
“What we really need is for every one of you to comply, and only be around your family, and only go out when absolutely essential,” Price said Tuesday afternoon during her daily Facebook Live briefing.
The expected extension brings Fort Worth in line with orders from Abbott and President Donald Trump urging social distancing through April 30. Abbott issued new statewide restrictions Tuesday, requiring Texans to abide by social distancing measures, deeming certain businesses essential and extending Texas school closures through April in an effort to limit the novel coronavirus’ spread in Texas.
Abbott’s new executive order follows mounting pressure from local officials, hospital systems and lawmakers to issue uniform policies throughout the state, but he stopped short of issuing a statewide shelter-in-place order.
These orders are designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which causes a potentially fatal respiratory illness similar to the flu.
Price has stressed that staying home lowers the risk of exposure to the virus and will help prevent a rush on local hospitals.
A spike of patients could hit Texas around May 5, according to projections from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. But the leader of the Tarrant County Medical Society told the Star-Telegram on Tuesday he’s confident county health care professionals are prepared for a possible surge of COVID-19 patients.
On Tuesday the county reported 20 new cases, bringing the total to 175 plus 98 provisional cases. At least three Fort Worth police officers and one Trinity Metro bus driver are among the cases.
More than 50% of patients (91) contracted the virus through community spread, including 76 from an unknown source, according to the Tarrant County Public Health Department.
At least eight patients have recovered.
While the stay-at-home orders and closures are designed to protect public health, they have come at a cost for local small businesses. Nearly half of those surveyed by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce reported their businesses would likely shutter within a few months.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 5:33 PM.
