How stay-at-home directives compare
When Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo ordered residents on Tuesday to stay home under most circumstances until at least April 3, she stressed that her directive differs from more stringent shelter-in-place orders enacted elsewhere.
Like officials in many of the other 45 counties, 19 states and 18 cities where people are urged or required to stay home, Hidalgo has allowed residents to get groceries, run crucial errands and exercise outside. They also may leave to care for relatives or friends, visit hospitals or go to work in industries deemed essential.
The litany of businesses exempted under Harris County’s stay-at-home order sowed some confusion over whether life would meaningfully change for people working in industries unaffected by the order. In other areas under stay-at-home orders — which affect at least 191 million people in the United States, according to a New York Times map — the message has been similarly muddled for certain businesses and activities.
The orders generally follow the same overriding guidelines. Their differences stem from what each place considers an “essential” business. Across Texas, there was little disparity: Mayors and county judges from the state’s largest metro areas coordinated to release largely similar orders effective at 11:59 p.m.Tuesday, offering a blanket response in the absence of a statewide order from Gov. Greg Abbott.
The language in most of this week’s local orders largely matched that of a Dallas County order issued Sunday, with some exceptions. Harris County, for instance, considers furniture “suppliers” an essential business, and Houston-based Mattress Firm plans to stay open while the order is in effect. Bexar, Dallas, Tarrant and Travis counties’ orders make no mention of furniture stores.
Car dealerships may also remain open in Harris County, unlike in many other states and some Texas counties. Tarrant County is allowing dealers to offer parts and service work, but they must cease all sales, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. States such as Michigan and New Jersey are enforcing the same rule.
Harris, Bexar and Travis counties exempt car dealerships, while Dallas allows auto supply and repair shops and “related facilities” to remain open.
Harris County’s order also omits some industries that are permitted to stay open in other U.S. cities. Churches, for example, are limited to online-only services, though pastors still may minister to congregants individually.
The debate over whether to shutter churches and religious institutions has generated tension across the nation. On Monday, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that 34 people who attended a church in Greers Ferry, Ark., earlier this month tested positive for the novel coronavirus, sparking fears that churches could become hotbeds for the virus to spread. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has come under fire for exempting churches and any “place of religious worship” from her “stay home, stay safe” executive order.
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee has prohibited gatherings of 10 or more people and said churches that continue to convene are “risking people’s lives.” He has not barred religious institutions from meeting, however.
Liquor stores have spurred far less controversy, as most cities, counties and states have opted to keep them open — including the five largest Texas counties: Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar and Travis. Harris County left its stores open to prevent residents from flooding hospitals with symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, which can be worse than heroin or cocaine, and sometimes even fatal.
Restrictions on liquor stores appear limited to a handful of states. In Utah and Virginia, liquor stores may continue to operate under reduced hours. An emergency order in Arkansas allows liquor stores to make curbside sales and home deliveries until April 17. Pennsylvania temporarily has closed its staterun liquor stores, and Alabama is allowing only curbside sales at its otherwise shuttered state-owned liquor stores.
Meanwhile, as other cities have opted to close their parks, Harris County has kept them open except for high-traffic areas such as playgrounds and basketball courts. The order also requires people to remain at least six feet from other people when outside.
As reports emerged of parks becoming overrun with people, many of whom appeared to be ignoring the six-foot rule, Mayor Sylvester Turner warned at Wednesday’s city council meeting that officials would take additional measures if the trend continues. Officials removed playground and exercise equipment from Memorial Park on Wednesday, and the city parks departments closed its golf courses, driving ranges, skate parks and community centers.
The Harris County order also eliminates some ambiguity that exists in other counties’ orders. For instance, it exempts plumbers, electricians, exterminators, yard and maintenance crews, housekeepers, janitorial staff, pool cleaners and other businesses that provide services needed to “maintain essential operations of residences.”
The other large Texas counties name only plumbers, electricians and exterminators, without specifying whether the other professions fall under the umbrella of “other service providers.” And while all large Texas counties exempt child care facilities that look after the kids of “essential” employees, Harris County appears to be the only one to extend that exemption to “adult care facilities.”
Other large Texas counties, along with Harris, allow homebased care for seniors and adults.
Some orders differ in their approach to elective medical procedures, or those that are planned in advance and not considered emergencies.
Abbott on Sunday postponed all elective procedures until April 21 in an effort to conserve medical supplies. The executive order bars “surgeries and procedures that are not immediately medically necessary to correct a serious medical condition” or “preserve the life” of a patient.
Attorney General Ken Paxton confirmed earlier this week that the directive applies to “any type of abortion that is not medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.” Ohio and Mississippi have joined Texas in barring abortions, albeit with less defined penalties than the $1,000 fines or 180-day jail sentences Texas is threatening.
Effective Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also banned all elective surgeries and procedures, but left it to the state health commissioner to define what constitutes an elective operation. The state has continued to allow abortions, and Planned Parenthood clinics are seeking to expand access to medication abortions, Politico reported.