FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD/NBC 5) - City and county leaders in Tarrant County asked area bars and restaurants, theaters and gyms to close Wednesday while ordering a reduction in the number of people permitted at gatherings to either 50% occupancy or 125 people as the nation continues to battle the spread of COVID-19.
The tightened restrictions come a day after an Arlington man who died Sunday was confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19. The man was a resident of the Texas Masonic Home in Arlington and Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday afternoon that all of the residents of the home would now be tested for exposure.
As of this writing, there are currently eight cases of COVID-19 in Tarrant County with one death. Across North Texas, there are 64 confirmed cases of the virus with two deaths.
In Fort Worth, mayor Betsy Price updated the city's disaster declaration.
Price previously announced that she would shut down all bars and require restuarants to provide only drive thru or takeout services. The restictions also inThose restrictions go into effect at Midnight Thursday.
The mayor, following the county's reccomendation, called for all theatres and gyms to be closed, and further restricted the number of people permitted at gatherings to 50. The restrictions are set to last for seven days but could be extended, she says.
Here's the city's release:
Effective 12:01a.m., March 19, 2020
Prohibits gatherings of more than 50 people in a single space, at the same time.
(This doesn't apply to separation on differen floors, by walls orr partitions(suchascubicles), or over time (more than 50 people may pass through the same space at different times of the day).
Closes dine-in service at restaurants, micro-breweries, micro-distilleries, and wineries, but allows take-out, drive-in, drive-through, or delivery services to continue.
Closes all bars, lounges, taverns, private clubs, theaters, gyms, and other amusement businesses.