Co. Commish met Friday, decisions pending
Trickling down quickly from Texas Governor Greg Abbott to each of the 254 counties, the most current
Executive Order, GA-14, implemented essential services and activities protocols for the entire state. The protocols direct all Texans to minimize nonessential gatherings and in-person contact with people who are not in the same household.
For counties across the state of Texas, in order to achieve the goals and guidelines established by President Donald Trump and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the Governor’s Executive Order renews and supersedes all previous orders by county judges and expires April 30.
Locally, the Ellis County Commissioners Court scheduled a 3 p.m. Friday (Apr. 3) meeting, though its results were not available by press deadline. The itinerary was to include the consideration and action to extend the Ellis County Declaration of Disaster as set forth by the county court on Mar. 24.
News articles about Covid-19 are available to read in their entirety, free of charge, from The Ennis News Facebook page.
Gov. Abbott’s Mar. 31 order does not prohibit people from accessing essential services or engaging in essential daily activities, such as going to the grocery store or gas station, providing or obtaining other essential services, visiting parks, hunting or fishing, or engaging in physical activity like jogging or bicycling.
“Essential services” shall consist of everything listed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in its Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce, Version 2.0, plus religious services conducted in churches, congregations, and houses of worship. For more information and requests for additions residents should visit www. tdem.texas.gov/essentialservices.
For the full outline from Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s joint guidelines, please visit https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/governor-abbott-and-a...
Citizens shall continue to avoid eating or drinking at bars, restaurants, and food courts, visiting gyms, massage parlors, tattoo studios, piercing studios, or cosmetology salons. Residents are still prohibited from visiting nursing homes, state supported living centers, assisted living facilities, or long-term care facilities unless to provide critical assistance. Additionally, the new order mandates schools to remain temporarily closed to in-person classroom attendance through May 4.
Clay Jenkins, Dallas Co. Judge, extended the Stay Safe at Home date until May 20. A number of parks have added police presence due to crowds gathering and avoiding mandates.
Dallas, Tarrant, Denton and Collin counties look for mitigated efforts to slow the spread to peak around April 20.
Texans should continue to work from home if possible. All services should be provided through remote telework from home unless they are essential services that cannot be provided through remote telework.
Ellis County received reports identifying the first positive case of COVID-19 on March 17. Since then, the cases have increased to a total of 27 countywide, including one recovery and one COVID-19 related death.
Ennis leads the county with 12 confirmed cases, followed by Midlothian (6), Waxahachie (3) and Red Oak (3), while Ferris, Maypearl and Palmer each have one case: 14 are male, 13 female.
The age groups with the most tested victims is between 40-49 with 10. There is 1 in the 0-19 age group, 2 in 20-29, 5 in 30-39. That totals 18 below 50. There 4 between 50-59, 0 in the 60-69 bracket, 2 in 70- 79 and 3 in 80+ to total 9 age age 50 and older.
Of the 27 cases in the county, one passed away, one has recovered and 25 remain active.
