Dallas County Is About to Shelter in Place. Will Other Texas Counties Follow?

As of 11:59 p.m. Monday, Dallas County will be the first Texas county under a shelter-in-place order. 

On Sunday evening, County Judge Clay Jenkins told residents to “stay safe, stay home” through at least 11:59 p.m. April 3, and the judge expects to expand the order, WFAA reported. Nonessential businesses are ordered to close in-person operations. Medical care, outdoor exercise and trips to grocery stores are fine as long as people stay at least six feet away from each other. Buses and trains will continue to run. 

Violations of the shelter-in-place order may lead to a fine or jail time, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Jenkins issued the order on the same day Dallas County’s known total of COVID-19 cases rose to over 100 and the death toll rose to three.  

In Dallas county, drive-thru testing started this past weekend. This is the first wide-scale screening of COVID-19 offered by the government in North Texas, WFAA reported.

The greater Houston area has 173 known cases of COVID-19, KTRK reported on Monday. But a shelter-in-place order has not been issued. 

Shelter-in-place orders are supposed to “flatten the curve,” which is a term from epidemiology that means limiting the spread of the virus for which a vaccine does not exist. Limiting the spread of the virus prevents deaths and helps hospitals and other medical centers have enough resources to treat the sick.

Twitter went wild with comments about the Dallas shelter-in-place order.

Former Congressional candidate, Jason Westin MD, thanked Judge Clay for the lock down.