Coronavirus restrictions aren’t going anywhere just yet, Tarrant County judge says
As officials talk about loosening some restrictions that have kept many in their homes in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus, it’s too early to actually make changes.
“Now is not the time to relax,” Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said Tuesday. “I still think we are two, three, maybe four weeks away from lessening restrictions.
“We are pretty much staying in step with the governor, ... beginning to look down the road to when we are lessening restrictions ... and putting (people) back to work.”
On Tuesday, Tarrant county commissioners updated their executive order calling for residents to stay home through the end of April to make it conform to orders Texas Gov. Greg Abbott put out last week that loosen some restrictions such as allowing for non-emergency medical procedures to begin Wednesday and retail-to-go to begin Friday.
Abbott has said more announcements will come Monday.
“It’s a very delicate balancing act between protecting the health of our citizens and protecting the economy,” Commissioner Roy Brooks said, calling for more coronavirus tests to be done locally. “We have to be more aggressive with testing so we know about the health of our citizens at the same time we consider the health of our economy.”
Tarrant County on Tuesday reported 1,333 COVID-19 cases, including 42 deaths and 223 recoveries.
Public Health Director Vinny Taneja said there was a spike in some cases because of a data glitch over the weekend as the system was being updated.
For now, he said the message stays the same.
“We need to listen to our leadership and follow the orders that are in place,” Taneja said. “Stay at home. You don’t need to be out unless you are doing a critical function.
“We must all work together,” he said. “Our community is very resilient and we will get through this.”
County officials expect testing to increase, particularly through two sites — one in the Fort Worth area and the other in Arlington — that could ramp up by the end of this week.
The testing comes from a partnership with Adobe and the Tarrant County Public Health Department, with the help of the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth and UT Southwestern through the Moncrief Cancer Center.
Changes
County commissioners Tuesday updated the order to match Abbott’s changes. Among them:
▪ Noting that while real estate transactions should be done as much as possible online, “this order does not prohibit showings so long as CDC guidance is strictly followed.”
▪ Adding to the executive order a note that the Centers of Disease Control states “that houses of worship should cancel all in-person gatherings of any size.”
▪ Updating the list of essential businesses to include urgent care facilities, car dealerships (which includes the sale of all vehicles), car rentals, firearm and ammunition suppliers, shooting ranges, hotels and manufacturing.
Whitley has said he hopes some restrictions can be loosened in May, perhaps in the first half of the month.
That will depend on what advice he gets from health officials and whether cases go up, down or flatten out.
“Don’t think you can relax now,” Whitley said. “Stay at home. Stay inside. Don’t get together in gatherings.
“Stay the course.”
