Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
Announcing the news a little after 7:00 p.m. on July 26, Judge Jenkins said, “As part of my daily personal testing for COVID-19, I received a positive result tonight. I’m asymptomatic at this point.”
He continued by noting, “I am fully vaccinated and have received both boosters,” claiming that such actions helped “protect [him] from severe COVID.”
Judge Jenkins committed to “following public health guidance and isolating at home, where [he] can continue to work remotely until [he] can return to public duties.”
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) placed Dallas County in the ‘Red’ category for COVID risk in mid-July, encouraging residents to wear masks indoors.
Dallas County officials, however, issued an ‘Orange’ level warning recommending “Extreme Caution.” They advise individuals to “consider limiting or avoiding medium to large social gatherings” and to “minimize time spent in crowded indoor settings, such as bars, restaurants, concerts, or gatherings where masks can’t be worn the entire time.”
The efficacy of masking, as recommended by the CDC, in reducing COVID-19 transmission has been disputed. The Brownstone Institute, for example, released a compilation and analysis of more than 150 comparative studies and articles that summarily determined that “masks do not work to control the virus, and they can be harmful, especially to children.”
Dallas County Health and Human Services claim that nearly 650,000 people in the county have contracted COVID, among which, 6,586 have died. Dying “of” COVID-19 is vastly different from dying “with” COVID-19, so it is impossible to identify the mortality rate based strictly on how many people who died had tested positive for the virus.
As of July 9, 44% of positive COVID-19 cases involved “fully vaccinated” individuals, and 56% involved people listed as “not fully vaccinated.”
Judge Jenkins has supported tight restrictions on people and businesses throughout the pandemic and is currently embroiled in a legal battle with Governor Greg Abbott over whether or not the county can force citizens to wear masks. Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had sided with Texas in upholding the state’s position against requiring people to wear masks.
In April, Dallas Commissioners John Price, Theresa Daniel, and Elba Garcia voted to allocate $250,000 of taxpayer money to pay for Judge Jenkin’s legal expenses.
In November, Judge Jenkins will face his first election since the outbreak of COVID-19, and his record on the issue will likely be a significant issue for constituents.
