TARRANT COUNTY (WBAP/KLIF News) – Residents in Tarrant County are now under a “Stay-At-Home” order as officials develop practices to fight the ongoing spread of the coroanvirus.
At a press conference Tuesday morning, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams and Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley outlines the details of the order.
Mayor Price said the new restrictions are in addition to the current disaster declaration for Tarrant County, which shut down places like dine-in restaurants, clubs, gyms and limits gatherings to no more than 10 people.
“We’re telling businesses if you’re not on the essential list, work virtually. Stay at home. Stay with your children. All gatherings prohibited and only essential functions,” she said.
Mayor Williams assured residents the cities are not shutting down.
“It’s not to say we are shutting down…that is not the case. Actually it means exactly what it says, ‘a smarter way for us to work’,” he said.
Price said the increased restrictions are necessary so coronavirus patients don’t overwhelm local hospitals.
“We have 5,300 hospital beds in Tarrant County and, at any given time, about 85 percent of them are full. We could easily have 12,000 people who need hospital care,” she said.
Price added that the actions taken by Texas’ largest cities will impact seventy percent of the state’s population.
Resident are allowed to perform essential tasks like going to the grocery store, the pharmacy or the bank. Outdoor exercise or other health-related excursions are also allowed as long as social distancing guidelines are followed.
The order takes effect at 11:59 p.m. tonight and runs through April 3rd.
Dallas County issued a shelter-in-place order earlier this week and other neighboring counties are expected to implement similar restrictions.
Click here for updates on the coronavirus response in Tarrant County.
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