Tarrant County Judge Whitley: New coronavirus order coming, will mirror Governor Abbott
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said Friday he expects to update his disaster order related to the novel coronavirus.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday announced a statewide edict that sparked confusion with local governments that had already enacted orders. Whitley said the updated Tarrant County order expected later Friday would not result in “major changes” but would clarify differences between local and state mandates.
Whitley and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy will provide briefing at 4:30 through a live stream on Facebook and the city’s website.
Though details were not available late Friday morning, Whitley said his updated order would expand the definition of essential businesses. The new order will also remove mentions of grocery store price gouging. Whitley had wanted to avoid stores marking up necessary products, but the Attorney General’s office said it would handle enforcing price gouging.
Whitley said he and District Attorney Sharen Wilson had spent nearly two hours hashing out the local order with the Texas Attorney General’s office Thursday night.
It’s unclear if the new order will extend the county’s disaster declaration and stay-at-home order. Dallas County on Friday extended its stay-at-home order through April 30.
After closing non-essential businesses, Fort Worth, Arlington and Tarrant County on March 24 jointly ordered residents to stay home until at least April 7. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price on Tuesday said she expected the city council to extend that order through April 30.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 2:01 PM.
