Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 5204-03-2020 RESOLUTION NO. 5204-03-2020 CONTINUATION OF DECLARATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY WHEREAS, in December 2019 a novel coronavirus,now designated COVID-19,was detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, with symptoms including fever, cough, and shortness of breath and with outcomes ranging from mild to severe illness and in some cases,death; WHEREAS, on January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization Director General declared the outbreak of COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern(PHEIC), advising countries to prepare for the containment,detection,isolation and case management,contact tracing and prevention of onward spread of the disease; WHEREAS,on March 5,2020,the World Health Organization Director General urged aggressive preparedness and activation of emergency plans to aggressively change the trajectory of this epidemic; WHEREAS,on March 11,2020,the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic; WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is closely monitoring the growing number of cases that have spread into the United States and the identification of "community spread"cases of COVID-19 in the United States signals that transmission of the virus is occurring; WHEREAS, COVID-19 spreads between people who are in close contact with one another through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes; WHEREAS, the continued worldwide spread of COVID-19 presents an imminent threat of widespread illness, which requires emergency action; WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, County Judge Glen Whitley issued a Declaration of Disaster Due to Public Health Emergency for Tarrant County, Governor Greg Abbott issued a State of Disaster for all Texas counties, and President Donald Trump declared a State of National Emergency for the United States of America on March 13, 2020; WHEREAS,pursuant to the Texas Disaster Act of 1975,the mayor is designated as the emergency management director of the City of Fort Worth, and may exercise the powers granted to the governor on an appropriate local scale; WHEREAS, a declaration of local disaster and public health emergency includes the ability to reduce the possibility of exposure to disease, control the risk, promote health, compel persons to undergo additional health measures that prevent or control the spread of disease, including isolation, surveillance, quarantine, or placement of persons under public health observation, including the provision of temporary housing or emergency shelters for persons misplaced or evacuated and request assistance from the governor of state resources; WHEREAS, on March 13,2020,the Mayor of the City of Fort Worth issued a Declaration of Public Health Emergency for the City of Fort Worth as allowed under section 418.108 of the Texas Government Code; WHEREAS, in accordance with section 418.108(b)the declaration by the Mayor can only be in effect for a period of not more than seven days, unless the same is continued by the City Council of the City of Fort Worth,Texas; WHEREAS, the current situation with COVID-19 leads the City Council to believe that the mitigation efforts and emergency response to COVID-19 must continue for more than seven days. NOW THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: I. That the declaration of the public health emergency for the City of Fort Worth shall continue in its entirety until May 15, 2020. II. That the City's Emergency Operational Plan shall continue to be implemented. III. That the cancellation of the City Council meeting on March 17, 2020 is hereby ratified, and the City Council meeting on March 24, 2020 is cancelled. IV. That this resolution shall take effect immediately from and after its issuance. ADOPTED THIS 19t" day of March 2020. Bets rice, ATTEST: �FORT� Mary J. K44er, i ecretary APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: . Sarah Fullen ider, City Attorney •f THIRD AMENDED DECLARATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS WHEREAS, in December 2019 a novel coronavims, now designated COVID-19, was detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, with symptoms including fever, cough, and shortness of breath and with outcomes ranging from mild to severe illness and in some cases, death; WHEREAS, on January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization Director General declared the outbreak of COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), advising countries to prepare for the containment, detection, isolation and case management, contact tracing and prevention of onward spread of the disease; WHEREAS, on March 5, 2020, the World Health Organization Director General urged aggressive preparedness and activation of emergency plans to aggressively change the trajectory of this epidermic; WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic; WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is closely monitoring the growing number of cases that have spread into the United States and the identification of "community spread"cases of COVID-19 in the United States signals that transmission of the virus is occurring; WHEREAS,COVID-19 spreads between people who are in close contact with one another through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes; WHEREAS, the continued worldwide spread of COVID-19 presents an imminent threat of widespread illness, which requires emergency action; WHEREAS,County Judge Glen Whitley issued a Declaration of Disaster Due to Public Health Emergency for Tarrant County for COVID-19 on March 13, 2020; WHEREAS, Governor Greg Abbott issued a State of Disaster for all Texas counties for COVID-19 on March 13, 2020; WHEREAS, President Donald Trump declared a State of National Emergency for the United States of America on March 13, 2020; WHEREAS,pursuant to the Texas Disaster Act of 1975, the mayor is designated as the emergency management director of the City of Fort Worth, and may exercise the powers granted to the governor on an appropriate local scale; WHEREAS, a declaration of local disaster and public health emergency includes the ability to reduce the possibility of exposure to disease, control the risk, promote health, compel persons to undergo additional health measures that prevent or control the spread of disease, including isolation, surveillance, quarantine, or placement of persons under public health observation, including the provision of temporary housing or emergency shelters for persons misplaced or evacuated and request assistance from the governor of state resources; WHEREAS,by this Declaration of Local Disaster and Public Health Emergency, I declare all rules and regulations that may inhibit or prevent prompt response to this threat suspended for the duration of the incident; WHEREAS,pursuant to the authority granted to the Mayor under the Texas Disaster Act of 1975, 1 authorize the use of all available resources of state government and political subdivisions to assist in the City's response to this situation; WHEREAS, I, Betsy Price, the Mayor of the City of Fort Worth have determined that extraordinary and immediate measures must be taken to respond quickly, prevent and alleviate the suffering of people exposed to and those infected with the virus, as well as those that could potentially be infected or impacted by COVID-19;and WHEREAS,I issued a Declaration of Public Health Emergency on March 13, 2020, an Amended Declaration of Public Health Emergency on March 16, 2020, and a Second Amended Declaration of Public Health Emergency on March 18, 2020 to implement additional measures to ensure the protection of the general public in the City of Fort Worth; WHEREAS,Governor Abbott issued Executive Order GA 08 and Commissioner John W. Hellerstedt, M.D. issued a Declaration of Public Health Disaster in the State of Texas on March 19, 2020 to implement statewide measures to address the spread of COVID-19;and WHEREAS,I now issue this Third Amended Declaration of Public Health Emergency to align the City of Fort Worth's response with Governor Abbott's Executive Order. NOW THERFORE BE IT PROCLAIMED BY THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: 1. That a state of disaster and public health emergency is hereby declared for the City of Fort Worth,pursuant to §418.108(a) of the Texas Government Code. 2. That the state of disaster and public health emergency shall continue for a period of not more than seven days of the date hereof, unless the same is continued by the City Council of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, pursuant to §418.108(b) of the Texas Government Code. 3. That this declaration of a local state of disaster and public health emergency shall be given prompt and general publicity and shall be filed promptly with the City Secretary, pursuant to §418.108(c)of the Texas Government Code. 4. That the City's Emergency Operations Plan is activated and implemented, pursuant to §418.108(d) of the Texas Government Code. 5. That this declaration authorizes the City to commandeer or use any private property, temporarily acquire,by lease or other means, sites required for temporary housing units or emergency shelters for evacuees, subject to compensation requirements, pursuant to §418.020(c) of the Texas Government Code. 6. That this declaration authorizes the City to take any actions necessary to promote health and suppress disease, including quarantine, examining and regulating hospitals, regulating ingress and egress from the City, and fining those who do not comply with the City's rules, pursuant to §122.006 of the Health and Safety Code. 7. That this declaration hereby limits the size of gatherings to no more than 10 people and mandates the cancellation of all such gatherings of more than 10 people until further notice. This declaration does not prohibit gatherings of people in multiple, separate enclosed spaces (including separate cubicles) in a single building such as different floors of a multi-level office,residential building, or hotel, so long as 10 people are not present in any single space at the same time. This declaration also does not prohibit the use of enclosed spaces where more than people may be present at different times during the day,so long as more than 10 people are not present in the space at the same time. For any gathering covered by this subsection,the Mayor of the City of Fort Worth strongly encourages compliance with the attached recommendations. The uses in Sections 8, 9, and 10 are not considered "gatherings," but are limited or prohibited as provided in Sections S. 9, and 10. S. That this declaration hereby orders that a restaurant with or without drive-in or drive- through services; drive-in restaurant; drive-through restaurant; or microbrewery, micro-distillery, or winery may only provide take out, delivery, or drive-in or drive- through services as allowed by law. 9. That this declaration hereby orders the closure of a bar, lounge, or tavern; amusement and entertainment; theater;gym; and private club. 10. That this declaration hereby limits the occupancy of the following locations to 50% occupancy as set forth on the business' certificate(s) of occupancy or 125 individuals, whichever is less: a. Event Centers; b. Hotel Meeting Spaces, and Ballrooms; c. Retail Sales and Services; d. Convenience Stores; e. Plazas; f. Places of Worship; and g. Malls (the occupancy of a mall is limited as follows: (i) common areas in a mall to 50% occupancy as set forth in the business's certificate(s) of occupancy or 125 individuals,whichever is less, and(ii) individual Retail Stores within a mall to 50% occupancy as set forth in the business's certificate(s) of occupancy or 125,whichever is less). This 50% occupancy limit does not apply to areas not listed above, including office buildings, government buildings, critical infrastructure such as airport and transit facilities, residential buildings, grocery stores, manufacturing and industrial locations, non-profit service providers, airports, homeless and emergency shelters, day cares, and medical facilities. 11. That this declaration hereby authorizes the use of all lawfully available enforcement tools. 12. That this declaration sets forth strong recommendations, attached hereto, for the purpose of mitigating the spread of COVID-19. 13. That this proclamation shall take effect at 12:01 am on March 20, 2020. ORDERED THIS the 1911'day of March, 2020. Betsy Price Mayor CITY OF FORT WORTH RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MITIGATING THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 The City of Fort Worth strongly recommends the following: (1) Cancel all nonessential gatherings and meetings. (2) Create smaller groups for essential meetings, and consider holding video/audio meetings instead. (3) For individuals at increased risk of severe illness, cancel all nonessential gatherings and limit nonessential outings. "Individuals at increased risk of severe illness" includes but is not limited to individuals 60 years and older; with compromised immune systems; with medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or disorders, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or other lung conditions. (4) For operators of public spaces,provide ways for patrons to maintain safe social distancing, for example, maintaining six feet of separation between individuals; have hand washing capabilities, hand sanitizers and tissues available; and frequently cleaning high touch surface areas like counter tops, hand rails, and door knobs. (5) For workplaces,promote telecommuting; ensure employees do not work while sick; do not require a doctor's note for employees who are sick; maximize flexibility in sick leave benefits; and minimize the number of employees working within arm's length of one another. (6) For grocery stores and pharmacies, increase the use and capability of drive-thru, curbside, or delivery services; limit or restrict the number of customers permitted in a store at one time; minimize the number of employees working within arm's length of one another; provide handwashing capabilities, hand sanitizers, and tissues; and frequently clean high- touch surface areas like countertops, doorknobs, and handrails. (7) Determine ways to consider providing support services, including meals, to individuals at increased risk of severe illness while limiting group settings and exposures. (8) Minimize all nonessential travel.