Tarrant County declares local disaster amid coronavirus fears; county has 2 cases

Mar. 13--FORT WORTH -- Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley declared a local disaster Friday due to a public health emergency because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

With the declaration, officials will implement an emergency management plan.

As of Friday afternoon, two Tarrant County residents have tested "presumptive positive" for coronavirus. The latest person who tested positive traveled overseas, and the two cases are not related.

Tarrant County is recommending that events over 250 people are canceled and strongly recommends organizers of events of any size where people are in close contact with each other be canceled or postponed.

"We are trying to get in front of this," Whitley said during a media briefing Friday afternoon.

Whitley's address came on the heels of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declaring a statewide disaster. President Donald Trump is expected to declare coronavirus an national emergency, NBC News reported.

Russell Schaffner, assistant county administrator, told Tarrant County state lawmakers in an email Friday morning Whitley would declare a local state of disaster. The Star-Telegram obtained a copy of the email.

On Thursday, Whitley told the Star-Telegram local officials were mulling the possibility of declaring the virus, which causes a flu-like respiratory illness, a disaster.

Whitley pointed to Tarrant County's businesses already taking precautions by canceling events, and said that an emergency declaration may help the county if it runs into issues with purchasing laws.

For example, the city may have an immense demand for services it needs to contract for, but could be slowed by the required bidding process, or an existing vendor may run out of necessary supplies.

More than 1,400 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the United States, and a growing number of governors have issued disaster proclamations or states of emergency over coronavirus concerns.

As of Friday, there are at least 39 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Texas, including two in Fort Worth.

Everyone who came in contact with an Episcopal priest who tested positive for the disease has been identified, Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja said Thursday afternoon. Those at highest risk for infection have been told to stay home for two weeks and their condition is being monitored, he said. He would not say how many people had been tested or asked to quarantine.

Multiple Tarrant County schools have canceled class for two weeks, and dozens of public events, meetings and gatherings have either been postponed or canceled.

Staff writers Tessa Weinberg and Domingo Ramirez Jr. contributed to this report.

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