Coronavirus Update

March 18, 2022 Update

On February 25, 2022, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins amended the County's face mask order to require face coverings only in long-term care facilities, health care facilities, and certain congregate settings like detention facilities and homeless shelters. Judge Jenkins rescinded the order requiring masks in long-term care facilities on March 8. This rescission order does not apply to employees, patients, and visitors to healthcare facilities or employees, residents, and visitors to congregate facilities. Those requirements will remain in place and continue to be in effect until further notice.

For the second time in less than a month, Dallas County has lowered the COVID-19 risk level. On February 21, Dallas County lowered it from red to orange and on March 16 Judge Jenkins announced that it had been lowered to yellow.

According to a recent report by UT Southwestern Medical Center, the number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 in both Dallas and Tarrant County continues to decline and further decreases are predicted going forward. Test positivity rates also continue to decline, reaching near-record lows statewide, and both emergency room visits and new hospital admissions are flattening out at low levels. Southwestern forecasts that Dallas County's total COVID-19 hospitalizations should be below 100 by late March if current trends hold. New COVID-19 infections are projected to fall below roughly 200 new COVID-19 infections per day by late March.

The CDC recently launched a new tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high based on the number of hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area. Currently, Dallas County's community level is rated as "low," so the CDC recommends residents stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines and get tested if they have symptoms.

December 29 Update

On Tuesday, December 28, Dallas County’s public health committee raised the COVID-19 threat level to red, or “high risk of transmission." The county’s hospitalizations due to Covid have gone up 50% in the last week. In a letter to Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, the public health committee asked commissioners to encourage the following actions:

Increase vaccination and boosters to prevent severe illness and hospitalization
Increase testing capacity to identify cases early
Implement universal masking and physical distancing in public spaces
Limit public gatherings to allow for distancing
Encouraging masking, distancing, and vaccination to combat omicron

December 28 Update

The CDC announced on Monday, December 27 that it is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others. The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after. Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others.

December 17 Update

Addison is continuing to monitor the changing and ongoing legal conflict regarding the Dallas County mask mandate. Once it has reached its final conclusion, we are prepared to respond accordingly.

The health of our community continues to be a top priority, so in the meantime, we are encouraging members of the public to wear masks as they deem appropriate, wash hands or use hand sanitizer frequently, practice social distancing as necessary, and stay home when sick. Vaccinations are also encouraged and you can find a local vaccine provider at www.vaccines.gov.

August 16 Update

On Sunday, the Texas Supreme Court temporarily restricted Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins’ ability to enforce a mask mandate in schools and businesses. In response to the court’s Stay Order, which temporarily blocks the mask mandate until the entire case can be heard on August 24, Judge Jenkins has amended his Executive Order to remove the penalties for businesses that do not comply.

August 12 Update

Judge Clay Jenkins' August 11 Executive Order, which took effect at 11:59pm on August 11, was expanded on Thursday night to include mask mandates for colleges and contact tracing for schools. It does not, however, impact city-owned buildings, like recreation centers and libraries.

Jenkins' Order comes after a Dallas district judge issued a temporary restraining order late on Tuesday, August 10 that restricts the enforcement of Governor Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates. As you may recall, on July 29 Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order 38 prohibiting government officials or governmental entities from imposing mask mandates. Governor Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a petition in the state’s 5th Court of Appeals to block Judge Jenkins' Order on Wednesday and Judge Jenkins filed a response yesterday. Addison is closely monitoring the rapidly changing and ongoing legal conflict on this matter. Once it has reached its final conclusion, Addison is prepared to respond accordingly.

August 11 Update

On August 11, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins issued an Emergency Executive Order requiring faces coverings in certain public places including schools, businesses, and Dallas County buildings and facilities. The order also strongly urges face coverings in public indoor spaces. The new order will officially take effect at 11:59 p.m. on August 11, 2021. This order does not impact any Town of Addison building or facilities. To read the full order, please click here. To read some FAQs concerning the order, please click here .

July 29 Update

On July 29, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order 38 that combines several Executive Orders and specifically states there are no COVID-19-related operating limits for any business or other establishment. It encourages individuals to follow safe practices (wear face coverings, social distancing, etc.) in high transmission areas, but also says that people cannot be mandated to wear face coverings by any jurisdiction. It also says that this order supersedes any conflicting orders issued by local officials.

See More COVID-19 Updates Here

Total Number of Confirmed Addison Cases*
See Prior Numbers
November 3	414
November 6	428
November 10	445
November 13	452
November 17	477
November 20	513
November 24	553
December 1	590
December 4	607
December 8	628
December 11	648
*DCHHS has not updated its website summaries since 12/11

*Source: Dallas County Health and Human Services

THE FOLLOWING PREVENTIVE MEASURES SHOULD BE TAKEN TO HELP REDUCE THE SPREAD OF COVID-19:

Stay home when you are sick.
Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and help young children do the same. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. If you do not have a tissue, use your sleeve (not your hands).

Symptoms of COVID-19 may show up 2-14 days after exposure and may include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Below, you can see the differences between symptoms of COVID-19, the flu, and allergies.

You can find Social Distancing Recommendations from DCHHS here.

STAY INFORMED

In addition to the Town's website, here are some other ways you can get updates:

Subscribe to the Town's Website

NEARBY TESTING SITE

Neighborhood Medical Center
5917 Belt Line Road (Belt Line and Preston)
972/726-6464

Offering drive thru COVID-19 testing – no appointment necessary.

HOW CAN THE ADDISON COMMUNITY HELP?

During a time of crisis in our community, many organizations are stepping up to help those who are impacted the most. The Town has created a list of some of those organizations. Together we are stronger.