DALLAS COUNTY JUDGE CLAY LEWIS JENKINS November 13, 2020 Dear Governor Abbott, For the last several weeks, we have watched as the COVID-19 case numbers in Dallas County continue to increase at an alarming rate. The rate of community spread has our local health authority and our regional hospital administrators concerned that we are quickly approaching caseloads that will be unbearable for our facilities and personally catastrophic for our families. The percent of all hospitalized patients with lab-confirmed COVID-19 in Dallas County has significantly increased since October 1 from 4.14% to 10.11%, a 144% increase. We are seeing a similar trend in our surrounding counties. Our hospitals and medical modelers predict we will reach our peak high of hospitalizations in seven to ten days. Additionally, recent modeling from UT Southwestern shows that 2,500 new COVID-19 infections per day are expected by November 24, 2020. The numbers are accelerating rapidly in Dallas County and in the North Texas region. In the early stages of our response to the pandemic, we formed a Dallas County Public Health Committee comprised of experts in infectious disease, epidemiology and public health to provide credible analysis and thoughtful recommendations for our residents. In the attached letter, you will find their immediate requests of me to attempt to blunt this very dangerous and serious curve. These requests, however, fall outside of my authority given the restrictions placed on counties in several of your executive orders, including GA-32. For the sake of our community and our collective shared constituents, please consider implementing the recommendations of our local health experts or confirming that local county judges have the legal authority to take such actions. Sincerely, Clay Lewis Jenkins Dallas County Judge 1