Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price Announces Updated Emergency Declaration
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) — Amid the spread of COVID-19, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price announced an updated emergency declaration scheduled to take effect at midnight.
Mayor Price originally issued an emergency declaration on Mar. 13 and an amended declaration on Mar. 16. She said the second declaration will implement "additional measures to ensure the protection of the general public."
Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Mar. 19, the city of Fort Worth will be proclaimed a state of disaster and a public health emergency, both of which will continue for a period of no more than seven days, unless continued by Fort Worth City Council.
The city will "take any actions necessary to promote health and suppress disease, including quarantine, examining and regulating hospitals, regulating ingress and egress from the city, and fining those who do not comply with the city's rules."
The declaration also limits the size of gatherings to no more than 50 people and mandates the cancellation of all gatherings of more than 50 people until further notice.
However, the declaration does not prohibit gatherings of people in multiple, separate enclosed spaces (including separate cubicles) in a single building such as different floors of a multi-level office, residential building, or hotel.
"So long as 50 people are not present in any single space at the same time. This declaration also does not prohibit the use of enclosed spaces where more than people may be present at different times during the day, so long as more than 50 people are not present in the space at the same
time."
Restaurants with or without drive-in or drive thru services may only provide take out, delivery, or drive-in or drive thru services. The declaration also orders the closure of bars, lounges and taverns, as well as theaters and gyms.
The declaration will limit the occupancy of the following locations to 50%:
- Event centers
- Hotel meeting spaces and ballrooms
- Retail sales and services
- Convenience stores
- Plazas
- Places of worship
- Malls
This 50% occupancy limit does not apply to
- Office buildings
- Government buildings
- Airport and transit facilities
- Residential buildings
- Grocery stores
- Manufacturing and industrial locations
- Non-profit service providers
- Airports
- Homeless and emergency shelters
- Day cares
- Medical facilities.
To learn more about protecting yourself from COVID-19, visit the CDC website here.
