Saturday, March 21, County Judge Clay Jenkins announced a number of amended restrictions to be placed in effect to combat the spread of COVID-19. Those included, but were not limited to:
- Closure of nail salons; hair salons, barbershops; beauty salons, hair removal services; spas, tattoo and piercing parlors.
- Prohibiting of any other personal care service that involved social distancing of fewer than six feet
- Prohibiting all elective medical, surgical, dental services.
- Limiting the amount of toilet paper that can be purchased at one time.
- Requiring people using outdoor spaces, such as public parks, to maintain social distancing of at least six feet from other people.
The next day, Jenkins amended the order further by calling for a “Shelter in Place” order to be effective March 23 at midnight. This change is an effort to avoid stretching the health care system past its limits. He expressed concern that with current trends and statistics, COVID-19 cases would cause the need for more hospital beds than are available. He said that the “Shelter in Place” order was the best way to avoid the hospital room/bed shortage. Jenkins based his decision on information at https://covidactnow.org/
Earlier Sunday, Governor Greg Abbott had announced that he would leave the decision to call for a “Shelter in Place” measure to individual counties.
All Dallas County residents must stay at home except for essential activities. These activities include things such as caring for loved ones, attending essential doctor appointments, grocery shopping or purchasing medicine or medical supplies.
He also called for businesses not classified as essential to close. Restaurants will remain open and offer takeout. Grocery stores, as well as pharmacies, will remain open. Other essential jobs include those of some government workers, first responders, health care workers, public utility employees, plumbers, electricians. Social service workers are considered essential and those who offer help to people in need will be allowed to open.
Other essential businesses include laundromats, dry cleaners, laundry service providers, gas stations, auto-supply, auto and bicycle repair, hardware stores and businesses that supply products needed for people to work from home.
DART buses and trains will continue to run.
Abbott and Jenkins described some measures being taken to ramp up the amount of much needed medical equipment. Seamstresses have been asked to help by sewing protective garments and face masks and manufacturers are halting current operations to produce ventilators and more. Whiskey distilleries are producing hand sanitizer.
Abbott also announced that some requirement changes have been made that will increase the number of nurses available. His order also included an increase in hospital patient capacity by having two patients per room.
Jenkins’ new order runs through April 3 and he expects that to be extended.
Also, on Sunday, the Garland Health Department announced that there are currently five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Garland. The most recent patient is in his 30s. He recently traveled out of state.
For county-wide statistics, visit the Dallas County website.
Read the “Shelter in Place” order.
36 new cases reported March 22 in Dallas County – 131 total cases in Dallas County – 5 confirmed cases reported in Garland