Texas county tells unemployed people to look for jobs instead of staying home during pandemic

Collin County, Texas this week published an order stating that he wants as many businesses as possible to stay open -- and he even told the unemployed to go out and find jobs.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Collin County Judge Chris Hill on Tuesday released an order stating that businesses should stay open during the coronavirus pandemic on the grounds that closing them would be bad for the economy.

"All businesses, jobs, and workers are essential to the financial health and well-being of our local economy and therefore are essential to the financial health and well-being of Collin County citizens," Hill wrote.

He then issued instructions for both workers and the unemployed that emphasized the importance of going to work.

"Persons who are employed need to stay employed," he wrote. "Persons who lack employment need to gain employment."

The judge did say that businesses that open should try to comply with social distancing measures and enact sanitarian measures consistent with those recommended by public health officials.