coronavirus

Tarrant County Does Not Issue ‘Shelter-in-Place' Order; Will Revisit Each Day

"We feel like we put much stiffer restrictions on our residents that were in effect at 6 p.m. yesterday, and we think we need to give that a little bit of time to see how that proceeds," Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley says

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Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley says he will not issue an order for residents to shelter in place until he sees how amended restrictions announced Saturday impact the number of COVID-19 cases in the county.

At an emergency meeting Sunday, Tarrant County commissioners approved penalties of up to $1,000 or 180 days in jail for people who don't follow the county's emergency management orders.

Those amended restrictions were announced Saturday, and included putting a stop to in-person worship services and the closure of non-essential businesses.

Commissioners did vote to extend Saturday's amendment through April 5.

The county reported five new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday.

The Tarrant County meeting began shortly after Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins announce a shelter-in-place order that runs through April 3.

County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks mentioned he thought Tarrant County should follow Dallas County's lead, which led to public comments from people at home via email and phone.

"At this point in time, no we will not. We are not calling for a shelter in place," Whitley said after the meeting. "We feel like we put much stiffer restrictions on our residents that were in effect at 6 p.m. yesterday, and we think we need to give that a little bit of time to see how that proceeds."

The amended restrictions also limited gatherings to no more than 10 people, down from 50 in a previous order.

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