Dallas Judge Lowers Color-Coded COVID Risk Level To A New Low

DALLAS, TX —The city continues to roll the dice today as Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins lowered the local COVID-19 threat to yellow.

Yellow is the lowest rung of the level threat rating, and one the city hasn't seen since the introduction of the color coding system in 2020.

The judge made his adjustment public on Twitter. To simplify, it now means that unvaccinated Texans can now "safely" engage in greater social mixing, including, travel, shopping and eating inside restaurants.

Yes, you read that correctly. Unvaccinated people. Inside restaurants.

According to The Dallas Morning News, several county commissioners feel the action is actually "long overdue."

They quote County Commissioner John Wiley Price saying that "people need to see a ray of hope."

Want to be the first to know about Patch membership when it launches? Click here to find out how you can support Patch and local journalism.

Never mind that only 44.3 percent of the county's population (older than 12) has been fully vaccinated and that the most optimistic virologists say that a minimum of 70 percent must be inoculated to reach the lowest threshold of herd immunity.

No, it's about what people "need to see."

Perception is reality, you know.

Price also made another comment that goes to the heart of the matter. He told The Dallas Morning News that he's planning a special Juneteenth event to encourage vaccination and celebration. Then he added, "If you want to be emancipated, you help carry your share of the load in society.”

It's not abundantly clear to whom Price was addressing his remarks, or what he means by "emancipated" or helping to "carry your share of the load in society."

Perhaps he was referring to emancipation from COVID-19 lockdown. Perhaps he meant it's every citizen's duty to get vaccinated against the virus so that society itself will be protected and society can resume a more typical course.

But including Juneteenth and the word "emancipated" in the same sentence sounds far too much like he's referring to the Emancipation Proclamation and freeing of the slaves at the end of the Civil War — which is what Juneteenth celebrates. And "carrying your share of the load in society" sounds far too much like, "so get back to work."

Whether it's too soon to start to mix the inoculated with the infected will only become clear in the weeks and months to come. Science argues against it.

Whether it's a good idea to send coded messages (if that's what they are) to Juneteenth celebrants as a way to get them vaccinated?

There just might be a better way.

Looking for more Dallas news? Subscribe.