In a move designed to flatten the curve, Judge Clay Jenkins amended his Declaration of Local Disaster with stronger restrictions. As Judge Jenkins spoke about the new order, and the need to place limits on how much toilet paper can be purchased, the underlying theme was “and this is why we can’t have nice things.”
You see, Judge Jenkins and other public officials have been pleading with the public for over a week to stop hoarding groceries. They have emphasized over and over again that there’s no supply chain issues. Also, they’ve emphasized the need for social distancing.
But, alas, people have continued to buy more than they need. People have continued to congregate at the mall or the nail salon, and so now there’s a need for more rules.
Amended Order for March 21 2020
A brief summary of what the Dallas County Order changes include:
- Practice social distancing, if you’re at the park or running on the trails you must remain at least six feet apart
- Nail salons, hair and beauty salons, spas, and tattoo and piercing parlors must close
- All medical, surgical and dental procedures deemed to be elective are prohibited anywhere in Dallas County
- Dallas County tax offices & passport offices must close for in-person services
- A mandatory limit on toilet paper (12 rolls or 1 pack per purchase) until the supply chain meets demand or 2 weeks whichever comes first
The order takes effect at 11:59 p.m. Saturday and goes through April 3.
Reactions on social media ranged from anger and shock to others acknowledging this was necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Dallas County and throughout Texas. In reality there’s no quick fix to changing people’s behavior, and we must all take action to reduce the community transmission of COVID-19 to reduce the strain on our hospitals.
