Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, center, has ordered Dallas County residents to “shelter in place.” (File photo)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott today stopped short of issuing a statewide “shelter in place order,” but Dallas County Judge Jenkins has just taken that extra step, ordering Dallas County residents to stay at home other than those providing or accessing “essential” services, including healthcare, government services, infrastructure services and financial institutions.

If you’re not at one of the essential businesses, or if you’re not out walking your dog or going to the grocery store, you need to stay at home,” Jenkins said. “We are about to see wave of first responders go down. I need you to police yourselves.”

The order currently is in place through April 3 but could be extended.

Jenkins urged people not to start panic-buying again, saying, “I know this order is going to worry people. [But] Grocery stores will remain open. The supply chain is working fine.”

To read Jenkins’ full amended order, which includes definitions of what it considered “essential,” go here.

UPDATE: COMMENTS FROM DALLAS MAYOR ERIC JOHNSON

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson has issued a statement supporting Jenkins’ “shelter in place” order and calling on other local jurisdictions to follow suit:
“We are still working through the language of the county’s quickly evolving orders and discussing the best ways to enforce these orders citywide, but I support a stay-at-home approach to slow the spread of COVID-19. While this approach likely means our city will experience economic difficulties, our top priority is public health, and it’s vitally important that we take the steps necessary to save lives and prevent strain on our healthcare system.
“I am confident that regulations such as Dallas County’s most recent ones will help flatten the curve of COVID-19’s spread in Dallas, but this disease does not respect political boundaries. Therefore, I believe a statewide or regional approach, as opposed to a county by county or city by city approach, is the best way to defeat this pandemic and defeat it quickly.”

UPDATE: TARRANT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING NOW

Tarrant County Commissioners are currently holding an emergency meeting at which they have already voted to ratify the amended orders announced Saturday, March 21, by County Judge Glen Whitely. The commissioners are currently discussing what a critical function is and who performs that critical function in terms of county government and its employees. They have taken public comment regarding issuing a “shelter in place” order similar to the Dallas County order but the agenda for this meeting does not include an action item on such an order.

— Tammye Nash