Businesses should ‘use common sense’ to decide whether to open, Tarrant judge says
After he issued an order to close non-essential businesses Saturday, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said it is up to businesses to determine whether they’re essential.
In a press release, the county listed examples of non-essential businesses, including malls, spas, tanning salons, event centers, estheticians, bingo halls, private clubs, gyms, retail stores, tattoo shops, hair and nail salons, and massage parlors.
Bars, lounges, taverns and theaters had already been shut down, and restaurants are limited to take-out or delivery.
Grocery stores, pharmacies, convenience stores and other establishments that sell household goods will remain open. Plumbers, electricians, cleaners and other businesses that perform needed work are exempt.
But as for other businesses, Whitley said they should “use common sense” to determine if they are essential.
“The question is going to be, why do you believe you’re essential?” Whitley said after Sunday’s county commissioners’ meeting, during which officials unanimously voted to close non-essential businesses until at least April 5.
“I’m just going to tell you, it’s amazing to me some of the calls we’ve gotten that they’re an essential business,” Whitley said. “We’re asking people to use some common sense.”
Whitley gave the example of sporting goods stores, which he said he did not consider essential.
“Some of the things we put in place are going to create a great amount of suffering among some individuals, and they’re going to need our help,” he said. “It’s a reminder that whenever we act, it’s a ripple in the water, and it goes way out.”
He also talked specifically about car dealerships, saying the service departments should stay open because people need to drive, but the showrooms should close because people can purchase a car online.
“We can sit here all night long and never completely answer all the questions,” Whitley said.
Whitley argued against imposing a county-wide shelter-in-place order, which two commissioners said should be put in place Sunday night.
“Even at that, with us closing the restaurants and the stylists and the bars, we’re putting a tremendous burden on the citizenry in Tarrant County,” he said. “I know there are a lot of business owners that are struggling with the impact it’s having not only on business, but also on their employees.”
In the county’s order passed Sunday, essential businesses include those listed by the Department of Homeland of Security as “critical infrastructure.”
On March 19, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an order specifying which workers are deemed essential to the country’s infrastructure.
The list of critical employees includes workers in the industries of medical and health care, telecommunications, information technology systems, defense, food and agriculture, transportation and logistics, energy, water and wastewater, law enforcement and public works.
This story was originally published March 22, 2020 at 10:46 PM.
