Two positive COVID-19 cases in Rowlett, shelter-in-place effective at midnight March 24

UPDATE March 24, 6pm

Mayor Tammy Dana-Bashian has amended the City’s Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency to further provide clarification on some items, and to encompass items included in the Dallas County Amended Order issued yesterday. The Declaration of Disaster shall continue in effect until April 30, 2020 unless terminated sooner or otherwise modified. However, items in this Order take effect at 11:59 p.m. on March 24, 2020 and will continue through 11:59 p.m. on April 3, 2020.City of Rowlett Amended Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency: https://bit.ly/2QYHCZVIn addition to the provisions spelled out in previous orders, this amended order updates the definitions of:

Essential Activities to allow moving either in or out of the City.

Essential Healthcare Operations to include chiropractors, physical therapy, optometry offices (elective procedures are still prohibited). Also added personal training and gymnastics studios to the prohibited activities.

Essential Critical Infrastructure to be defined by the 16 critical infrastructure sectors identified by the National Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA).

Essential Retail to include pet food and supplies. Also further details retail establishment guidelines for safe shopping.

Essential Services to Maintain Households to include shipping and delivery services, building cleaning, maintenance and security, and moving services for residential and essential business.

Public and Private Education was added as allowed only for the purposes of facilitating distance learning or performing essential functions.

Childcare Services definition was entirely revised, including adding restrictions on size of groups within a single space.

Allowable manufacturer retooling to now include not just ventilators, but also masks, personal protection equipment and other essential supplies.We appreciate your patience with these evolving orders. Information changes on an hourly basis these days and we realize it can be confusing. Please read the order linked in this post or go to Rowlett.com/COVID-19 (https://bit.ly/38Kzli9) for more info and resources.#MyRowlett#BetterTogether#NewDayNewOrder

UPDATE March 24, 2020 11:50am

**These numbers are changing by the minute!*****Garland Health Authority has updated their information about the two positive cases in Rowlett – both are in the Dallas County portion of Rowlett.***The following COVID-19 case counts reflect numbers as of 10:00am Tuesday, March 24. We will continue to share updated numbers with you on a daily basis.

Please visit www.Rowlett.com/COVID-19 (https://bit.ly/38Kzli9) for more information, closures and the measures instituted to help protect our community.

National – 46,485 cases, 591 deaths

Texas – 776 cases, 11 deaths

North Texas – 304, 6 deaths

Dallas County – 155 cases, 4 deaths

Rockwall County – 0

City of Rowlett – 2

Stay home, if you must go out please continue to practice social distancing of six feet and personal hygiene measures. Check in on your family, friends and neighbors, especially those who are elderly. Support our local restaurants and food establishments by ordering delivery or curbside service. Follow the Library and Parks and Rec Facebook pages for fun stuff to do virtually.Be kind to each other, that’s who we are here in Rowlett.#MyRowlett#bettertogether

At tonight’s Special City Council Meeting, Mayor Tammy Dana-Bashian announced that Rowlett has been notified of two positive COVID-19 cases in our community. One in the Dallas County portion of Rowlett, one in the Rockwall County portion of Rowlett . Also at tonight’s meeting, Mayor Tammy Dana-Bashian amended the City’s Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency and has issued a Shelter in Place order. This order mirrors the order put in place by Dallas County yesterday and affects everyone in the City of Rowlett, whether in Dallas or Rockwall County. The order is effective 11:59pm Tuesday, March 24 through April 3. This gives residents and businesses located in the Rockwall County portion of Rowlett a day to plan, just as the Dallas County portion of Rowlett was allowed. To be clear – Dallas County’s order for the Dallas County portion of Rowlett still goes into effect tonight at 11:59pm.

City of Rowlett Amended Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency: https://bit.ly/3bdFKEa

In addition to the provisions spelled out in previous orders (which remain in effect through April 30), the Shelter in Place order (in effect thru April 3) includes:

All individuals currently living within the City of Rowlett are ordered to shelter at their place of residence.

All persons may leave their residences only for Essential Activities, or to provide or perform Essential Governmental Functions, or to operate Essential Businesses (please see Section 3, entitled “Definitions”, of the order for a definition of these terms – the listing is quite extensive).

All businesses operating within the City of Rowlett, except Essential Businesses, are required to cease all activities at facilities located within the city. For clarity, businesses may continue operations consisting exclusively of employees or contractors performing activities at their own residences (i.e. working from home).

All public or private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a single household or living unit are prohibited, except as otherwise provided in the order. Nothing in this Order prohibits the gathering of members of a household or living unit.

We know these new, more stringent measures may be unpleasant for some, but the need to protect the most vulnerable members of our community outweighs any possible individual discomfort. The virus that causes COVID-19 is easily transmitted through person to person contact, especially in group settings, and it is essential that the spread of the virus be slowed to protect the ability of public and private health care providers to handle the influx of new patients and safeguard public health and safety.Please go to Rowlett.com/COVID-19 (https://bit.ly/38Kzli9) for more information. #MyRowlett#BetterTogether