In an effort to decrease the rapid spread of COVID-19, many cities and counties across Texas are ordering residents to stay home.
RA News is closely monitoring coronavirus developments in Texas. Here we will update our readers on the latest stay-at-home orders issued across Texas.
AUSTIN
County: Travis and Williamson
Effective: Tuesday, March 24, 11:59 p.m.
Ends: Monday, April 13
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, and local leaders issued the stay-at-home order.
Officials said the order is intended to reduce social interaction and slow the spread of COVID-19. Mayor Adler said, “we’ll be able to weather this. … Our first responders and health care workers will have all they need.”
BRAZORIA
County: Brazoria
Effective: Thursday, March 26, 6:00 p.m.
Ends: Friday, April 3, 11:59 p.m.
Brazoria County Judge Matt Sebesta issued the stay-at-home order at a press conference Wednesday evening.
“Please come together as we have over the last five years as we have faced flooding and Hurricane Harvey. I am going to ask you at this point of time to all come together to help stop the spread of COVID-19, so that we can get together as quickly as possible,” Sebesta said.
DALLAS
County: Dallas (parts of Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall per emergency regulations)
Effective: Immediately
Ends: Wednesday, April 29
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson issued a set of emergency regulations that would enforce the county’s stay at home order in parts of the city that don’t fall under the county’s jurisdictions (Collin, Dallas, Denton, Kaufman, Rockwall) per Dallas Morning News.
“This step is necessary to ensure that our enforcement efforts across the city are uniform and to clarify any confusion among Dallas residents about the many emergency orders they may have been hearing about,” Johnson said.
DENTON
County: Denton
Effective: Tuesday, March 24, 11:59 p.m.
Ends: Tuesday, March 31, 11:59 p.m.
Denton County Judge Andy Eads, Denton Mayor Chris Watts, and other officials announced the stay-at-home order.
“Each individual has the responsibility to stay at home and [limit] their actions to the necessities of getting supplies, handling medical issues, and for some, going to work to keep essential businesses in operation,” Eads said.
EL PASO
County: El Paso
Effective: Tuesday, March 24, 11:59 p.m.
Ends: Until further notice
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo and El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, along with other local leaders, announced the stay-at-home order.
“The presumption is, our hope is, that by doing this, we have shortened a lot of the timeline that is going to be required to deal with this virus so that we can try to get back to normal as soon as possible,” Margo said.
FORT BEND
County: Fort Bend
Effective: Tuesday, March 24, 11:59 p.m.
Ends: Friday, April 3
Fort Bend County Judge K.P. George issued a stay-at-home order.
“I met with more than 70 faith leaders & hospital CEOs to make this decision.”
FORT WORTH / ARLINGTON
County: Tarrant
Effective: Tuesday, March 24, 11:59 p.m.
Ends: Tuesday, April 7
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, and Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley, Fort Worth, Arlington issued the stay-at-home order.
“Today’s announcement is not meant to be alarmist or cause panic,” Price said. She urged residents to refrain from flooding grocery stores and hoarding food.
FRISCO
County: Collin
Effective: Monday, March 23, 11:59 p.m.
Ends: Tuesday, March 31
Collin County Judge Chris Hill, Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney, and other local officials announced the stay-at-home order, allowing business to remain open unlike in Dallas, the Dallas Morning News reported.
“All businesses and all jobs and all workers are essential,” Hill repeated several times.
HOUSTON
County: Harris
Effective: Tuesday, March 24, 11:59 p.m.
Ends: Friday, April 3
Tuesday morning, Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the stay-at-home order for Houston and Harris County during a press conference, covered by RA News here.
“My destiny is in your hands, and your destiny is in my hands, and where we go from here, in large part, will depend on how we change our behavior to recognize the crisis we are in,” Turner said.
SAN ANTONIO
County: Bexar
Effective: Tuesday, March 24, 11:59 p.m.
Ends: Thursday, April 9
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and County Judge Nelson Wolff announced the stay-at-home order, covered by RA News here.
“As you know, and as we expected, the number of positive cases is growing. We need to take additional steps now to slow the spread. The actions I announced today can be summed up as short-term pain in exchange for long-term benefit,” Nirenberg said.
WILLIAMSON
County: Williamson
Effective: Tuesday, March 24, 11:59 p.m.
Ends: Monday, April 13
Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell issued the stay-at-home order at a March 24 press conference.
“We’re really asking for Central Texas to do is to come together and work as a region to care for those that are around us,” Gravell said.
65 of 67 Texas House of Representatives Democrats have requested that Gov. Abbott issue a statewide stay-at-home order.
