Also: Dallas County Reports Its First Coronavirus Death, A Dallas Police Officer Tests Positive And A Server At A Popular Dallas Restaurant Does Too.

As it has for the last week, the coronavirus-related news — both here in Dallas and also statewide — has been coming out at a rapid clip over the last 24 or so hours, so excuse us for skipping the formalities and just catching you up with the latest pertinent info all rapid-fire, bullet-point style:

  • Dallas County has reported its first coronavirus-related death. The county today confirmed an additional 20 confirmed positive cases of the coronavirus, bringing its total to 55. Additionally, health officials confirmed that a Richardson man in his 60s who was found dead in his home, who did not have any previous high-risk chronic health conditions, was determined to have succumbed to the disease. He represented the first death in Dallas County resulting from the virus. Despite his age, it’s worth keeping in mind that it is not just older people who are falling ill as a result of the pandemic.
  • A stay has been placed on eviction orders in Dallas County for 60 days. As Dallas City Council was voting to extend its state of disaster declaration through April 29 on Wednesday evening, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins was hosting a press conference of his own with some wide-ranging repercussions. In addition to banning gatherings of 10 people or more (including weddings, funerals and other religious services) — a restriction Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expanded statewide on Thursday — Jenkins also advised justices of the peace to suspend eviction hearings in Dallas County for at least the next 60 days. The hope, Jenkins says, is that such a measure will prevent renters from being displaced during these financially worrisome times.
  • A Dallas Police Department officer has tested positive for the virus. According to a press release issued by DPD, an officer working out of the Northwest Patrol Division tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday. The officer, who the department says is “doing well,” is currently in self-isolation. Three coworkers with whom the officer was in close contact prior to testing positive are also in precautionary quarantine at the moment. In response to the positive test, the department has issued a deep cleaning of the Northwest Patrol offices and issues all officers across the city hand sanitizer, gloves and commercial cleaning products to use on their patrol cars.
  • A server at the popular Dallas restaurant Town Hearth has tested positive for the coronavirus. The server at the Nick Badovinus-owned Design District steakhouse tested positive for the virus on Wednesday in Tarrant County after being sent home from work on Friday when they expressed to managers that they were “feeling unwell.” Upon learning of his server’s positive test on Wednesday, Badovvinus hired a PR firm and issued a release to announce the news on Thursday in the name of transparency. For more details on this story, check out D Magazine‘s coverage.

In case you missed it in our earlier coverage, it’s also worth reminding you that Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson’s state of disaster declaration was extended on Wednesday and is now set to remain in place until April 29. This means that all dine-in restaurants, bars, taverns, lounges, nightclubs, health clubs, gyms, arcades, theaters, billiard halls, churches and music venues within Dallas city limits are now likely to remain closed until that point.

On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott extended similar measures statewide.

Still, restaurants are still allowed to process take-out and delivery orders in the meantime — and, if you can support them in these trying times, you definitely should.

That said, when possible, stay the fuck home. Also, wash your damn hands.

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