Other City, County Efforts To Reduce Coronavirus Spread Less Strict Than Dallas'
Interactive Map: Coronavirus Restrictions Vary Greatly Across North Texas
COLLIN and DENTON COUNTY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Denton County and one city in Collin County, McKinney, took steps Tuesday to reduce the risk of public spreading of the coronavirus.
But those steps show the stark difference between the recommendations those two local governments are making versus he strict rules Dallas County has imposed.
McKinney voted to limit dine-in at restaurants and will ban it for three days starting Friday.
Denton County Commissioners issued recommendations to limit public gatherings to under 50 people.
Neither of those counties are resorting to the extreme actions Dallas County is taking.
Denton and Collin County leaders say the reason is that they don't have enough signs of community spread to warrant further action.
It looked like a typical Tuesday inside Two Rows Restaurant in Allen where St Patrick's Day specials were on the heavily-sanitized menus.
The owner says it's one of several health precautions that also include gloves on the wait staff and spacing customers as far as possible.
CBS 11 also found people taking in movies at theaters in Frisco and drinking coffee outside on patios in Denton.
All of these things are now prohibited in Dallas and Dallas County, which raises the question is Dallas County overreacting to the virus or are the actions of Collin and Denton Counties not going far enough.
"We are really trying to balance the lives and the livelihood and how do we preserve both of those," said Denton County Judge Andy Eads. "I think the actions of the commissioners court strikes that balance."
Judge Eads says out of 105 coronavirus tests only one has come back positive and that patient is in Double Oak.
The other in Prosper is someone from out of state.
Collin County has six so far.