Dallas County Judge, Clay Jenkins, for the Dallas County Commissioners Court issued an Amended Order(attached), “Stay Home Stay Safe”, on March 22, 2020. If you have any questions regarding how this order or how this epidemic applies to your business please call Albin Oldner Law at (214) 423-5100 or reach Todd Albin at talbin@albinoldnerlaw.com or John Mongogna at jmongogna@albinoldnerlaw.com.
The Order reiterates the Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency on March 12, 2020 related to the Novel Coronavirus now designated SARS-CoV2 which causes the disease COVID-19.
As a part of the summary, the Order requires all individuals anywhere in Dallas County (Residential or Business) to Shelter in place – except for certain essential activities and work to provide essential business and government services or perform essential public infrastructure construction, including housing.
The Order will take effect 11:59 pm on March 23, 2020 and lasting until 11:59pm on April 3, 2020.
The Order Applies to All individuals currently living within Dallas County and All Businesses operating within Dallas County except Essential Activities and Essential Businesses.
Essential Activities:
- To engage in activities or perform tasks essential to their health and safety, or to the health and safety of their family or household members.
- To obtain necessary services or supplies for themselves and their family or household members, or to deliver those services or supplies to others.
- To engage in outdoor activity, provided individuals comply with social distancing requirements of six feet.
- To perform work providing essential products and services to an Essential Business or to otherwise carry out activities specifically permitted in this Order.
- To care for a family member or pet in another household.
Essential Businesses:
- Essential Healthcare Operations.
- Essential Government Functions.
- Essential Critical Infrastructure.
Work necessary to the operations and maintenance of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors as identified by the National Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) including:
- Public works construction
- Residential Construction
- Commercial Construction
- Airport operations
- Water
- Sewer
- Gas
- Electrical
- Oil refining
- Roads and Highways
- Public transportation
- Solid waste collection and removal
- Internet and telecommunications systems (including the provision of essential global, national, and local infrastructure for computing services, business infrastructure, communications, and web-based services)
- Financial institutions
- Defense and National Security-related operations
Essential manufacturing operations provided that they carry out those services or that work in compliance with social distancing requirements of six feet, to the extent possible.
Essential business should implement screening precautions to protect employees and all activity shall be performed in compliance with social distancing guidelines.
- Essential Retail. (Food Service, grocery, warehouse, big box, bodegas, liquor stores, gas stations, convenience stores, farmers’ markets.
- Providers of Basic Necessities to Economically Disadvantaged Populations.
- Essential Services Necessary to Maintain Essential Operations of Residences or Other Essential Businesses.
- News Media.
- Childcare services.
- Manufacturer that retools to produce ventilators may apply for an “essential business exemption”.
