UPDATE: 8/11 5:00 a.m.
A Dallas district judge has cleared the way for Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins to issue a county-wide mask mandate as early as today.
Last night, the order came from 116th Civil District Court Judge Tonya Parker who writes: "the citizens of Dallas County have and will continue to be damaged and injured by Governor Abbott’s conduct."
Jenkins says he will "get feedback from health, education and business leaders..." with the anticipation of issuing an emergency order on Wednesday
DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has asked a court to block Governor Greg Abbott's ban on local mask requirements. Jenkins has filed for a temporary restraining order to have portions of Abbott's executive order ruled unenforceable.
"The enemy is not Greg Abbott. It's not each other. It's not the unvaccinated. The enemy is the virus itself," Jenkins says.
Jenkins praised Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa for announcing a mask requirement to students, staff and volunteers at schools.
"Michael Hinojosa has shown himself to be a great man in protecting our children at DISD," Jenkins says. "I hope others will follow suit. The stakes are high for public health, for our community and for our children."
Jenkins says the number of COVID cases has increased 300% over the past month, and hospitalizations have increased 377%. He says hospitals in North Texas now have just two available pediatric ICU beds; hospitals in Dallas County have 14 available adult ICU beds.
"These aren't just beds for COVID-19. These are all beds, so if your loved one has a heart attack or is in a car wreck, there's little to no availability," Jenkin says. "Doctors are already making decisions that are different than the decision they would have made three weeks ago about triaging people who come to the hospital or doctor's office."
Dallas County Health Director Phil Huang says the county averaged 1,090 cases a day the past three days. He says COVID case numbers are now fastest growing among 18 to 49 year olds.
"What that reflects is that we've actually been very successful in getting people 65 and older vaccinated, but now it's these younger groups who are still vulnerable to severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths," Huang says.
Tuesday afternoon, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he would intervene in a lawsuit filed against Jenkins by Dallas County Commissioner JJ Koch. Koch filed the lawsuit after he was told to leave a commissioners court meeting because he was not wearing a mask.
Related
"These guys are supposed to act under law," Paxton said about Jenkins during an interview with Glenn Beck. "If he doesn't like the current law, he needs to lobby the legislature to change it, not decide for himself, 'Hey, I run this county; I do what I want. I don't follow anybody's other laws because I'm the county judge."
Across Texas, the Department of State Health Services said hospitals had a total of 9,462 COVID-19 patients Tuesday, the most since February 6.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow NewsRadio 1080 KRLD