Coronavirus Information

Exceptions to the Face-Covering Requirement

• Any person younger than 10 years of age
• Any person with a medical condition or disability that prevents wearing a face covering 
• While consuming food or drink or seated at a restaurant
• While exercising or engaging in physical activity outdoors and maintaining safe distance from others (not in the same household)
• When driving along or with passengers in the same household
• When obtaining services that require temporary removal of face coverings for security surveillance, screening, or a need for specific access to the face. 
• While swimming in a pool, lake or similar body of water
• While voting, assisting a voter, serving as a poll watcher, or actively administering an election - however, wearing a face mask is strongly encouraged
• While providing or obtaining access to religious worship - however, wearing a face mask is strongly encouraged
• While giving a speech for a broadcast or to an audience

Assume Personal Responsibility: Public health guidance cannot anticipate every unique situation. Residents should take responsibility, stay informed, take actions based on common sense, and follow the guidance offered by health care experts.

Do an Honest Self-Assessment: All individuals are encouraged to perform an honest self-assessment before engaging in activities outside of the home. This assessment should include asking two questions and if the answer to either of these questions is yes, then exercise extra caution and discretion before leaving the home:

• Am I healthy enough to leave the home, or do I fall into a high-risk category, based on age or other medical conditions?
• Is there someone in my home, or someone I interact with on a regular basis, who falls into a high-risk category?

Perform Protective Hygiene, Distance Yourself Physically and Clean the Environment: Dallas County (including Irving) residents and visitors should practice good hygiene and cleaning practices to minimize the risk of transmission of the virus.These include:

• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds as frequently as possible or use hand sanitizer after interactions with people or objects
• Stay home if ill
• Cover coughs or sneezes with a tissue or do it into the sleeve or elbow, not hands
• Clean high-touch surfaces (buttons, door handles, counters, etc.) regularly
• Avoid touching your face
• Refrain from hand shaking
• Physically distance and keep six feet between people
• Wear a facial covering when out in public or when in the company of others.

Assess the Risk: Individuals should assess their risk and make decisions based on their specific circumstances. Those at high risk for COVID-19 (elderly, diabetic, etc.) and those around them should use extra precautions as outlined by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), and Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS).

Summary of Executive Order GA 28 of Texas Governor Greg Abbott

• Every business establishment in Texas shall operate at no more than 50 percent of the total listed occupancy of the establishment.
• There are no occupancy limits for the following
  • Services listed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) in its Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce
  • Religious services conducted in churches, congregations, and houses of worship
  • Local government operations, including county and municipal governmental operations relating to licensing, permitting, recordation, and document-filing services, as determined by the local government
  • Child-care services
  • Youth camps including summer camps and other daytime and overnight camps for youths
  • Recreational sports programs
• The 50% occupancy limit also does not apply to outdoor areas, events, or establishments except for the following, which are limited to 50% occupancy (as determined by the owner):
  • Professional, collegiate, or similar sporting events
  • Swimming pools
  • Water parks
  • Museums and libraries
  • Zoos, aquariums, natural caverns, and similar facilities
  • Rodeos and equestrian events
• The 50% occupancy limit also does not apply to the following as long as they operate with at least six feet of social distancing between work stations:
  • Cosmetology salons, hair salons, barber shops, nail salons/shops, and other establishments where licensed cosmetologists or barbers practice their trade
  • Massage establishments and other facilities where licensed massage therapists are authorized to practice
  • Personal-care and beauty services such as tanning salons, tattoo studios, piercing studios, hair removal services, and hair loss treatment and growth services
• Amusement parks and carnivals may operate at 50% capacity
• Outdoor gatherings estimated to be larger than 10 people are prohibited unless approved by the mayor or county judge. If approved, there have restrictions determined by local authorities
• Indoor bars must remain closed, however, they may provide drive-thru, pickup or delivery to the extent allowed by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
• Restaurants may provide dine-in services at 75% occupancy until June 29, 2020. After June 29, they may only provide dine-in services at 50% occupancy.
• People shall not use commercial rafting or tubing services, including rental of rafts or tubes and transportation of people for the purpose of rafting or tubing. 
• For any business establishment that is subject to a 50 percent “total listed
  occupancy” and that is in a county that has filed with DSHS regarding minimal cases of COVID-19 (this excludes Dallas County), the business establishment may operate at up to 75 percent of the total listed occupancy.
• Facilities with retractable roofs are considered indoor facilities and are subject to occupancy limits listed above
• Staff members are not included in occupancy limits except for manufacturing services and office workers
• Except as provided in this executive order or the in the minimum standard health protocols recommended by DSHS, people shall not be in groups larger than ten and should maintain six feet of social distancing from those not in their group
• People over 65 are encouraged to stay home as much as possible, maintain distance from household members who have been out of the residence in the previous 14 days, and implement social distancing when leaving the home
• Every person should use good-faith efforts and available resources to follow the minimum standard health protocols recommended by the DSHS
• People shall not visit nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or long-term care facilities
• Schools may resume operations for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, public schools may resume for the summer under TEA minimum standards protocols. Private schools are encouraged to adopt similar standards
• All existing executive orders are amended to eliminate confinement in jail as a penalty for violating the executive orders

Summary of Amended Order of Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins

• All people 10 years or older shall wear a face covering over their nose and mouth when in a public place where it is difficult to keep six feet away from other people or working in areas that involve close proximity with others.
• The CDC advises face coverings for people 2 years or older
• Face coverings may include homemade masks, scarfs, bandanas, or a handkerchief.
• Dallas County residents should continue to maintain social distancing of at least six feet while outside their home.
• It is strongly recommended that you not obtain or wear medical masks or N-95 re respirators as they are needed by health care providers and first responders and they must have priority access to medical masks and other personal protective equipment.
• Face coverings do not need to be worn in the following circumstances:
  • When exercising outside or engaging in physical activity outside
  • While driving alone or with passengers who are party of the same household as the driver
  • When doing so poses a greater mental or physical health, safety, or security risk
  • While pumping gas or operating outdoor equipment
  • While in a building or activity that requires security surveillance or screening, for example, banks
  • When consuming food or drink DALLAS COUNTY
• Please note that face coverings are a secondary strategy to other mitigation efforts. Face coverings are not a replacement for social distancing, frequent handwashing, and self-isolation when sick. All people should follow CDC recommendations for how to wear and take off a mask. Residents should keep up the following habits while in public:
  • Washing hand before you leave home and when you return
  • Staying at least six feet away from others iii. Avoiding touching nose or face
  • Not using disposable masks more than three times, and
• The Health and Safety Policy, required to be developed and implemented by businesses, may also include the implementation of other mitigating measures designed to control or reduce the transmission of COVID-19 such as temperature checks or health screenings.
• Businesses must post the Health and Safety Policy required by this Order in a conspicuous location sufficient to provide notice to employees and visitors of all health and safety requirements.
• Failure to develop and implement the Health and Safety Policy required by this Order within five (5) calendar days of this Order may result in a fine not to exceed $500 for each violation.
• Washing reusable cloth masks regularly to prevent the spread of the virus. Consistent with Executive Order GA-26 issued by Governor Greg Abbott, no civil or criminal penalty will be imposed on individuals for failure to wear a face covering.

Summary of Continuing Requirements Order of Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins

• All Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Recovery Payments to individuals shall be exempt from garnishment, except for garnishment for child support payments when deposited into an account in a financial institution.
• Employers may not require a negative COVID-19 test or note from a healthcare provider before a COVID-19 recovered employee can return to work.
• No person can charge more than the regular retail price charged on March 16, 2020 for:
  • Groceries, beverages, toilet articles, and ice
  • Restaurant, cafeteria, and boarding-house meals
  • Medicine, and pharmaceutical, medical equipment and supplies 
• If someone in a household has tested positive for Coronavirus, the household is ordered to isolate at home.
• Nursing homes, retirement, and long-term care facilities are instructed to prohibit non-essential visitors from accessing their facilities except to provide critical assistance or for end-of-life visitation.
• Public and private  schools and institutions of higher education must provide a safety plan to the Dallas County Office of Homeland Security  and Emergency Management 72 hours before students return to a classroom setting.
• The Dallas County Sheriff's Office, the Dallas County Fire Marshal's Office, and other peace officers are authorized to enforce this order through criminal or civil enforcement. Violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000.