Coronavirus live updates June 29: 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.
At Tarrant County businesses, folks seem to be following mask rules — more or less
Tarrant County businesses are largely following a new rule that says they must require customers to wear masks.
The rule, signed by Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley on Thursday, went into effect Friday in an effort to prevent the county from having to shut down businesses as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
At Sundance Square restaurants, customers were required to wear a mask before being seated. For those who refuse, take-out was offered as an option. Some restaurants, like Jake’s, provided masks to patrons. Taco Diner in Sundance Square had a sign notifying guests they must wear a mask whenever they are not eating or drinking. The restaurant appeared to be enforcing that.
Buc-ee’s in Far North Fort Worth had signs saying customers are required to wear a mask and wash their hands before shopping. While most customers wore masks, the store did not appear to be enforcing the rule. About a third of customers wore masks over their chins or held them in their hands while others covered only their mouths, not their noses.
Walmart in Far North Fort Worth saw about 95% of customers wearing masks Saturday, but had some wearing them as chin straps or carrying them in their hands. The same was true at the Kroger by TCU.
Social distancing was observed in most stores and restaurants across the county, but outside many customers were shoulder to shoulder. Parks Mall and Tanger Outlet stores had lines outside when they reached capacity, with 6-foot points marked on the floor.
Fort Worth businesses may face $500 fine if they fail to require masks
The Fort Worth City Council during a special meeting Friday ratified Mayor Betsy Price’s order requiring people to wear masks.
With Tarrant County’s coronavirus cases rocketing higher each day, County Judge Glen Whitley announced Thursday that face coverings must be worn by employees and visitors to all businesses and at outdoor gatherings larger than 100 people. It is up to each of the county’s 41 cities to enforce the mandate and set a fine for violations. Fort Worth dips into multiple counties, so the mayor must issue her own order for it to cover every city resident.
Fort Worth’s order carries a fine up to $500 for businesses found in violation. They must develop a health policy that requires employees and customers to wear masks as well as post signs advising visitors or the rule.
Code enforcement, fire and police officers have the authority to enforce. It began at 6 p.m. Friday and runs through Aug. 3, though the council may extend it.
The order defines proper face coverings as masks, homemade masks, scarfs, bandanas, or a handkerchief.
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.
Tarrant County coronavirus cases continue surge Sunday as another death confirmed
Tarrant County reported 393 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday as infection numbers continue to climb in Texas.
The county has seen 11,476 total cases and at least 5,024 people have recovered, according to county data. Tarrant County Public Health reported one COVID-19 death on Sunday. The man was in his 50s from Fort Worth and had underlying health conditions. Tarrant County now has 225 confirmed deaths.
Cases rose in Tarrant County last week, averaging 388 new cases daily between Monday and Friday. As of Sunday, patients took up 3,464 hospital beds in the county — 380 of those were occupied by confirmed COVID-19 patients. Hospitals had 1,613 beds still available for patients.
On Thursday, Tarrant County passed 10,000 coronavirus cases with a single-day high of 517 cases. That same day, County Judge Glen Whitley announced face masks are mandatory in all Tarrant County businesses and at outdoor gatherings with more than 100 people.
In response to surging coronavirus numbers, Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday issued an executive order demanding bars close again and restaurants reduce capacity to 50 percent.
Jenkins asks Abbott to require masks in Texas as Dallas County hits another record
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is asking Gov. Greg Abbott to make masks mandatory and reinstate the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order for 30 days after the county reported a record 570 new coronavirus cases Sunday.
The county also confirmed another COVID-19 death Sunday, an 80-year-old Irving man who did not have any known underlying health conditions.
The “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order, more commonly referred to as a quarantine, would require non-essential businesses to shutter their stores again. Restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and non-essential retail would be limited in operating ability or closed entirely.
Jenkins wrote in a letter to Abbott that a committee made up of epidemiologists, doctors, hospital executives and healthcare leaders are recommending 30 more days of quarantine, mandatory masking, mandatory social distancing and closure of all entertainment businesses, youth sporting events, public pools, camps and other venues or activities that are not conducive to wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing.
“I made my peace early on during this crisis to always follow the science and our public health experts,” Jenkins wrote. “I recommend that you enact these requirements statewide, or at the very least, regionally.”
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.
Abbott orders bars to close, reduces restaurant capacity amid Texas’ record COVID cases
To combat record-breaking new cases and hospitalizations of the novel coronavirus, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a new executive order Friday ordering bars to close by noon and reducing restaurants’ capacity to 50%.
Bars may remain open for delivery and take-out services, including for alcoholic drinks. Starting Monday, restaurants must return to 50% dine-in capacity. Previously, bars had been permitted to reopen at 50% capacity, and restaurants were allowed to operate at up to 75% occupancy.
Abbott also ordered rafting and tubing businesses to close by noon, and required local government approval for most outdoor gatherings of 100 people or more. Amid a surge in cases, local officials have recently restricted access to popular recreation areas and swimming spots due to overcrowding.
“At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars,” Abbott said in a statement Friday. “The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health. We want this to be as limited in duration as possible. However, we can only slow the spread if everyone in Texas does their part.”
Friday’s restrictions are some of the most significant actions Abbott has taken yet, signaling a change of course from the state’s aggressive reopening amid the pandemic. On Monday, Abbott had struck a newly urgent tone, but said that closing down the state “will always be the last option.”
Abbott had announced a pause on further reopenings Thursday, and said the catalyst for Friday’s restrictions was the infection rate — the number of positive cases out of those tested — exceeding 10%.
Here’s how Fort Worth, Arlington bars are feeling after Abbott’s order to close
North Texas bar owners and employees scrambled to close up shop and cash out registers after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the closure of all Texas bars Friday amid rising coronavirus cases.
In Arlington, Tina McAuley, owner of Marie Red’s at 3007 E. Abram St., said her bar was “muddling through” changes and staff shortages as the 13-year-old bar reopened for business in late May. She had just purchased face masks to hand out to patrons starting Friday evening, when a Tarrant County order would have required everyone in businesses to wear them. Since reopening, McAuley has worked nearly every day as a bartender.
Now, she’s worried her business may not survive another closure.
“I’m in utter shock that I’m closed down again,” McAuley said. “I hope and pray I can open back up and survive through it.”
Billy Bob’s Texas in the Fort Worth Stockyards closed until further notice Friday, less than a week after reopening with a limit of 1,500 per night and resuming live music. Keitha Spears, a spokeswoman for the club, said a few customers had returned Thursday for the first night of live music, which made social distancing in the 100,000 square-foot entertainment center easy. Now, she said, the club is closing again until it receives more information from state officials.
“We’ll have to start readjusting back to not being an operating business,” she said.
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.
Expect to wear a face mask in Johnson County — if you’re in a crowd of 100 or more
Johnson County is requiring residents to wear face coverings in gatherings of 100 or more people.
The order, issued by Johnson County Judge Roger Harmon, took effect at 6 p.m. Friday and follows Gov. Greg Abbott’s order closing bars at noon Friday and limiting restaurants to 50% capacity beginning Monday. Health officials hope the measures help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Johnson County’s order is good through 6 p.m. July 3.
The order requires residents to wear masks in public areas where 100 or more people are gathered and social distancing isn’t possible. Residents with significant physical or mental health risks from wearing a mask aren’t required to use one. Residents who are consuming food or beverages or receiving a service where a mask would impede the service aren’t required to wear a mask.
There have been 314 COVID-19 cases in the county, including four deaths.
As states expand vote by mail amid COVID, Texas leaders continue their fight against it
The local election news of the last few weeks reminds Lisa Morris of her mom.
Gloria Meeks, who lived in the Rolling Hills neighborhood of south Fort Worth, was an entrepreneur with a seemingly endless supply of energy. She operated her own catering company yet found time to cook fiesta dip and Texas King Ranch casserole for her kids and grandkids. She regularly joined a pilot friend on leisurely plane rides in the skies of North Texas and took two cruises almost every year.
On top of all that, she was devoted to ensuring the Black community exercised its right to vote. Meeks organized a phone bank for Democratic voters and assisted the elderly with their mail-in ballots during election seasons. “She was just a great lady,” says Democratic Fort Worth Congressman Marc Veasey. “She worked really hard. She liked getting out the vote.”
Then, in August 2006, investigators with the Texas Attorney General’s Office arrived at Meeks’ house. She was drying off from a bath when two male inspectors looked in through her bathroom window, according to a signed declaration. She screamed, and they waited outside to interview her until she got dressed. Meeks was never charged. She was one of many Fort Worth women to experience scrutiny regarding mail-in ballots, and the encounter convinced her the Attorney General’s Office was after her for no reason, leading to difficulty sleeping.
Later that year, Meeks had a stroke. Morris says her mother never fully recovered until her death in 2012 at age 75. The situation left Morris with a negative opinion of Greg Abbott, who was Attorney General at the time. “In all honesty, I believe he’s the reason my mother had a stroke,” she said.
Morris has been thinking about Abbott as mail-in ballots are again a hot topic in Texas. She wishes the governor would allow all voters to use them in this year’s election. “That’s just my personal opinion, and my mother would feel the same freaking way, if she was here today,” says Morris, an actress who lives in Haslet.
But Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have stood resolute in challenging attempts in court to expand usage of mail-in ballots, even as the coronavirus spreads through Texas. With early voting starting Monday for the July runoff and Election Day scheduled for July 14, this summer’s election will almost certainly come and go without expanded mail-in voting opportunities. And unless the U.S. Supreme Court reverses a federal appeals court decision or Abbott files an executive order by November, the general election will be held under the same conditions.
Here’s what Tarrant election officials are doing to keep voters safe during COVID-19
As coronavirus cases continue to grow, election officials are working to make polling sites as safe as they can for voters casting ballots in the July 14 primary runoff and city of Fort Worth election.
Social distancing, masks, hand sanitizer — and voters studying up on the issues to move in and out as quickly as possible — will be key, Tarrant County officials say.
“We are trying to achieve a contactless experience,” said Heider Garcia, Tarrant County’s election administrator.
Early voting runs from Monday-July 10.
Anyone heading to polls in Tarrant County is being asked to wear a mask, but officials note that no one is required to do that. If you show up without a mask, and want one, each polling site should have a limited number of masks to share with voters.
Voters will be greeted at polling sites with the familiar tape on the floor, marking off spots for people to stand in line that are 6 feet apart.
Here’s how to get a mail-in ballot for Texas’ July 14 election
The July 14 election is right around the corner.
And coronavirus cases are on the rise, prompting many to wonder if they can vote by mail.
Lawsuits over the issue have been ricocheting through the courts for months, so far not changing the eligibility of who can request an absentee ballot.
“People are concerned,” Jeff Miller, a policy specialist with Disability Rights Texas, said during a recent League of Women Voters webinar about voting accommodations in Texas.
So here’s what is known.
Anyone planning to vote by mail in the July 14 election — which in Tarrant County includes Democratic and Republican primary runoffs and a city of Fort Worth sales tax for police — must request a ballot by July 2.
State law says that to qualify to vote by mail under Texas law, voters must be 65 or older, disabled, out of the county during early voting and on Election Day or confined in jail but still eligible to vote.
The Texas Election Code defines a disability as “a sickness or physical condition that prevents the voter from appearing at the polling place on election day without a likelihood of needing personal assistance or of injuring the voter’s health.”