Coronavirus live updates June 25: Here’s what to know in the Dallas-Fort Worth area
We’re keeping track of the most up-to-date news about the coronavirus in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Check back for updates.
Tarrant County will require face masks at all businesses amid surge of COVID-19 cases
Face masks will be required in all Tarrant County businesses and at outdoor gatherings with more than 100 people, County Judge Glen Whitley announced Thursday.
The executive order goes into effect at 6 p.m. Friday and will run through 6 a.m. Aug. 3.
“This marks the next stage in our fight against COVID-19,” said Whitley in making the announcement. “In an effort not to have to go back to the restrictions of March ... I believe masks are our best alternative at this time.”
“If you leave home, put on a mask.”
Whitley was joined by Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, Burleson Mayor Ken Shetter and several doctors and health officials in making the announcement during a morning press conference.
It is up to cities to enforce the order. Businesses that don’t comply could face a fine of up to $1,000.
Abbott pauses further reopenings, suspends some surgeries as COVID surges in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott paused further reopenings of businesses Thursday and for the second time during the pandemic announced he was suspending elective medical procedures — but only in four of Texas’ largest counties — to respond to all-time highs in new cases and hospitalizations.
Businesses currently permitted to reopen under previous phases, like restaurants, bars and malls, can continue to operate at the designated capacity levels. The announcement is a change of course for Abbott who has previously pushed forward with reopenings, and is a signal of the worsening spread of the virus in Texas.
Under Abbott’s new executive order, hospitals in the counties of Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis shall postpone surgeries and procedures that aren’t medically necessary to correct a serious medical condition or to preserve the life of a patient. Procedures that would not deplete hospital capacity needed for COVID-19 patients are exempt.
The executive order goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday, and Abbott may issue proclamations to add or remove counties from those affected.
“As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families,” Abbott said in a statement. “The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business.”
Estimated active cases over time
Coronavirus daily active case estimates by local counties in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex, beginning April 8, 2020. Data provided by Texas Health and Human Services.
Editorial: With COVID-19 surging, we need straight talk from Texas leaders about schools reopening
Texas education officials were set this week to unveil guidance for school districts about how to start the new school year and try to manage the coronavirus pandemic.
But coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to smash records. Gov. Greg Abbott told people to stay home and gave local leaders new power to limit crowds. On Thursday morning, Tarrant County became the last large Texas county to order businesses to require that employees and customers wear masks.
Suddenly, talk of millions of children, teachers and staffers back to school seems ill-timed. It’s no surprise the Texas Education Agency pulled back.
A short delay is fine. But the clock is ticking, and districts — not to mention Texas teachers and families — need to know what they’re in for, especially if the pandemic may rage on for a while.
Thanks to a draft posted on the education agency’s website and discovered by a Texas Tribune reporter, we have a sense of what the state may recommend. The guidance is heavy on recommendations and light on mandates, causing some to question whether the state should at least require the wearing of masks.
It’s probably best not to lay down sweeping requirements for more than 1,000 districts. What makes sense in Fort Worth may not be right for Fort Stockton.
Food bank event at Dickies Arena helps largest number of people since pandemic began
The Tarrant Area Food Bank held its largest distribution event on Wednesday at Dickies Arena where people showed up in their cars to receive food.
One of them was 27-year-old Brenda Martinez who lost her housekeeping job due to the pandemic.
“I heard about this through a text message,” Martinez said in Spanish. “But I’m here because I’ve been out of work and I have three young kids.”
Her three kids sat in the backseat of her small gray car as they gazed at men and women in uniform facilitate the event.
Members of the 136th Airlift Wing of the Texas Air National Guard were there directing traffic and loading thousands of pounds of food into people’s cars.
They’ve been assigned to assist the food bank since April and will be there until at least mid-July. Since the pandemic, the Texas National Guard has been assisting food banks and mobile COVID-19 testing sites throughout the state.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations over Time
Coronavirus daily hospitalization counts in Texas and the larger Trauma Service Areas, beginning April 8, 2020. Data provided by Texas Health and Human Services.
Texas Rangers are exploring plans to admit up to 20,000 fans per game
The Texas Rangers said they are drafting a plan that would allow for as many as 20,000 fans to attend Major League Baseball games at Globe Life Field when the regular season begins next month.
Under the Open Texas guidelines put forth by the governor’s task force, the team is exploring the possibility of admitting fans at up to 50% of the stadium’s capacity of 40,000, team officials said Wednesday.
The 2020 MLB season is scheduled to begin July 23 or July 24, and the Rangers are preparing to welcome fans beginning with their first home game. The team expects to receive its schedule no later than Saturday.
Teams will play 60 games, with half of them at their home ballparks. If fans ultimately are permitted to attend the 30 regular-season games that would be played at the new ballpark in Arlington, season ticket holders would receive first priority.
Part of what would make it possible for fans to attend games in 2020 is Major League Baseball’s decision to bow to local ordinances on reopening plans. Rob Matwick, the Rangers executive vice president, said the team will consult with MLB as well as state and CDC guidelines — and not those of Tarrant County or Arlington — to determine the safest plan.
Hall of Fame Game between Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers canceled over COVID-19
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is being canceled this year.
The game was set to feature the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 6 to officially start the NFL’s preseason at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The Cowboys confirmed the game’s cancellation amid the coronavirus pandemic to the Star-Telegram.
The Cowboys and Steelers are expected to play in the 2021 game. The enshrinement ceremonies are being postponed to 2021 as well.
An official announcement is expected later today after the NFL owners meet on a conference call.
Both the Cowboys and Steelers were set to make their seventh appearance in the game. The Cowboys last played in it in 2017 when owner Jerry Jones was enshrined into the Hall of Fame.
Former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson and safety Cliff Harris are among the members of the 2020 class.
COVID-19 cases over time
Coronavirus daily case counts over time by local counties in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex. Tap the arrow button to replay the animation. Data provided by Texas Health and Human Services and local counties.
Fort Worth rental company sues to overturn nationwide eviction moratorium amid COVID
A Fort Worth rental company is suing to end a United States moratorium on evictions at federally-backed properties that was enacted to protect renters during the coronavirus crisis. If the moratorium is overturned, nearly one in three Texas renters, most of them low-to-middle income earners, would be vulnerable to eviction.
The company, Sappington Garden, owns an apartment complex in Ridglea Hills and is joined in the lawsuit by Celtic Place, a rental company in Conroe. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Texas’s Northern District Court. It was first reported by The Dallas Morning News.
In late March, Congress included the eviction moratorium as part of the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Securities Act (CARES Act), which was passed to lessen the economic crush of COVID-19. The moratorium prevents landlords from filing evictions at properties that are backed by federal funding until at least July 25. The legislation also protects evicted tenants from having to vacate their properties for 30 days after the eviction.
According to the Urban Institute, at least one-fourth of properties in the United States are federally backed, and the Texas Supreme Court estimated one-third of Texas renters lived in these types of properties.
Sappington Garden claims in the lawsuit that since the pandemic began it has waived late fees and offered partial rent payment plans to its tenants, who are mostly blue-collar and service workers. Some of the tenants have not cooperated, according to the lawsuit, placing Sappington Garden in financial distress.
Blame younger people for Fort Worth area’s COVID-19 surge? Here’s what the data shows
As Texas and Fort Worth grapple with a surge in coronavirus cases, public officials, including Mayor Betsy Price and Gov. Greg Abbott, have been quick to note the growing number of cases among young people who they say are not taking the virus seriously.
Data from Tarrant County Public Health confirms that 25- to 44-year-olds have led other age groups in positive cases since April. Cases among other age groups have trended downward since late May, but younger people have seen a spike in cases following Memorial Day weekend.
Brandon Bennett, Fort Worth’s health officer, told City Council members Tuesday that, anecdotally, that contact tracers were finding outbreaks associated with summertime gatherings. While some cases began to spring up when the state reopened restaurants and retail, others originated at graduation parties, Memorial Day celebrations and other gatherings, including recent protests, he said.
The increase is being driven by people in their 20s and 30s, Bennett speculated, because of constant messaging that older people are most at risk. In Tarrant County, 67% of deaths have been among those 65 and older.
“When you look at the mortality rates they’re generally not the 20- to 30-year-olds,” Bennett said. “So they are, from a social standpoint, they are having parties, they are getting together, they are going to the beach. They are driving the numbers higher.”
The Tarrant County data, which does not include cases from last week or this week, shows new positive cases among 25- to 44-year-olds hit a high the week of April 26 at more than 350. Cases among all age groups began to fall through the week of Memorial Day, but then cases among 15- to 24-year-olds and 25- to 44-year-olds spiked.