DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - The mayor of Dallas says he hopes mayors and county judges in North Texas will work together to develop regional guidelines for restrictions dealing with coronavirus.
Through Tuesday, 169 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Dallas County; five have died.
Mayor Eric Johnson issued revised emergency regulations Tuesday to align the city's regulations with those of Dallas County. The City of Dallas includes land in five counties: Dallas, Collin, Denton, Kaufman and Rockwall.
Johnson says adopting a city-wide code will "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."
He says without statewide emergency regulations, county judges and mayors should work together to adopt a regional approach. The US Census Bureau's 2018 estimate put the population of the Dallas/Fort Worth area at 7,690,420.
"I believe that we can achieve much broader consensus on emergency orders that will allow the nearly 8 million people who live in our region to operate under clearer and more consistent rules, irrespective of the political boundaries that separate us," Johnson said in the video.
He says North Texas has a history of working together as a region to build "a robust regional economy and healthcare infrastructure."
Johnson has also canceled city council meetings through April 29, except those for the two committees formed to lead the city's response to COVID-19.