Privacy Fence in Plano, TX

A person who tested positive for measles visited three stores in Plano over a two-day period.

PLANO, Texas — A person who tested positive for measles visited three stores, including a Walmart, in Plano while still infectious, health officials said.

Collin County Health Care Services issued a news release Thursday night saying "an individual who spent time in Collin County" on April 10 and 11 has tested positive for measles. The person visited the three stores while still infectious, officials said:

Health officials warned that if you were at those locations on those dates and times, and you're not vaccinated against measles, then you might be at risk of contracting the virus. Measles can be transmitted person-to-person through the air or contaminated surfaces, officials said, and the virus can remain airborne for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area.

Here's what health officials said you should do:

1. If you were at one of the venues on the dates and times listed above and are:

• Unvaccinated and pregnant; or

• Immunocompromised (receiving treatment that would result in immune system suppression, or have an immune system disease), It is recommended that you contact your health-care provider immediately to discuss the possible exposure.

2. Anyone who was at the venues on the dates listed above should monitor themselves for measles symptoms through April 20, 2025. Those symptoms include:

• Fever

• Dry cough

• Runny nose

• Sore throat

• Inflamed eyes (conjunctivitis)

• Koplik’s spots: Small white spots with bluish-white centers found inside the mouth

• A skin rash made up of large, flat blotches

3. If you develop symptoms of measles:

• Stay home and away from others.

• Contact your healthcare provider for guidance.

• Call before visiting a clinic or hospital to prevent possible exposure to others.

The case is the latest reported instance of measles in North Texas. It's unclear if the measles case reported by Collin County is tied to the main outbreak of measles in West Texas.

The Rockwall County Health Authority on Wednesday issued a public health notification informing residents that an adult tested positive for measles last week, the agency said in a press release. The individual recently traveled to West Texas and was at home for most of their infectious period, the county said.

Dr. Dirk Perritt is the health authority doctor in Rockwall County. The county doesn't currently have a health department.

"If you've been vaccinated, the likelihood that you will contract measles is extremely low," he said.

He and other health officials around North Texas echo getting vaccinated.

"If you're protected, you're protected. For the vast majority of people, the protection is high and for your whole life," said Dr. Marcial Oquendo, a pediatrician at the Guadalupe Medical Center in Dallas.

"If it's one in a thousand and that one in a thousand is your kid, then it's all the kids in the world," said Dr. Oquendo.

The number of cases, mostly from the West Texas outbreak, increased by 36, when officials released new data on April 18, bringing the total to 597. At least 62 people have been hospitalized so far, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

Based on the most recent data, DSHS has identified designated outbreak counties with ongoing measles transmission: Cochran, Dallam, Dawson, Gaines, Garza, Lynn, Lamar, Lubbock, Terry and Yoakum.

Plano, city, Collin and Denton counties, northern Texas, U.S., located about 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Dallas. It is situated in a region of blackland prairie and was first settled (1845–46) by a group called Peters’ Colony (named for William S. Peters, who had led investors in gaining land grants from the Republic of Texas in the early 1840s). The community was granted a post office in 1851; several names were proposed, and ultimately Plano—which a leading citizen understood to be the Spanish word meaning “plain,” an apt description of the terrain—was selected. The railroad reached Plano in 1872, and, although the town was almost destroyed by fire in 1881, it continued to develop as a small agricultural centre in the midst of a cotton-producing and cattle-raising area. Plano’s rapid population growth began in the 1960s, when the population was less than 4,000, a result of the expansion of the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Plano is a financial and commercial centre, and its manufactures include compact discs, printed materials, metals, satellite communication equipment, and bakery equipment. Plano is the headquarters of Frito-Lay, a division of Pepsico. Heritage Farmstead Museum occupies a former sheep ranch. Plano, considered the “Balloon Capital of Texas,” hosts a popular hot-air balloon festival each September. Inc. 1873. Pop. (2010) 259,841; Dallas-Plano-Irving Metro Division, 4,235,751; (2020) 285,494; Dallas-Plano-Irving Metro Division, 5,129,966.

The latest company to reposition from California to Texas is an artificial intelligence startup that's nabbed customers such as Frontier Airlines, Adidas and Mercedes-Benz.

Cognigy, which creates AI agents for customer service, is moving its U.S. headquarters from San Francisco to Plano, Texas, D Magazine reports. This comes as the startup has 50 employees in the U.S. and is aiming to grow its headcount beyond 100.

With its global headquarters in Germany, along with other offices in the U.K., Australia and Japan, the startup is now looking forward to its move to Texas. Joe Havlik, Cognigy's North America general manager, described San Francisco as a good place for "established players" while calling Dallas-Fort Worth an "emerging tech hub" in the D Magazine report. CEO Philipp Heltewig also praised the Dallas area for its talent pool and possible customers.

Others have previously followed in Tesla CEO Elon Musk's footsteps and looked to Texas over California. Online real estate services provider Realtor.com relocated from its San Francisco Bay Area headquarters to Austin in February, a move that seemingly pleased Gov. Greg Abbott as he invited the CEO over for dinner ahead of the official announcement. And last fall, struggling EV startup Canoo made a plan to relocate a majority of employees who were working at its Los Angeles-area site to Texas or Oklahoma and lay off the rest. The company later filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations.

Meanwhile, Cognigy is flush with cash. The startup boasts that more than 1,000 brands worldwide rely on its AI agents that provide "hyper-personalized service" in more than 100 languages. Just last year, the company raised $100 million in a funding round that Cognigy said would help it deliver its customer service at scale.

Now, Cognigy is preparing for its move, which will be to a development known as The Parkwood located off Dallas North Tollway in Plano.

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The Muslim community is still giving us reasons to be concerned about their participation in American culture. A development in Texas has set off an alarm bell for several organizations in East Plano, and I don’t think they are over-reacting:

A proposed housing development anchored by a mosque in Josephine, Texas, has triggered a wave of political and public backlash, with Governor Greg Abbott and other state officials launching multiple investigations into the project. While backers of the development say it is meant to foster community among all faiths, the involvement of the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) has prompted accusations of religious separatism and even extremist intent — claims its leaders strongly deny, the New York Times reported.

The mosque in the community has assured Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton that their efforts are honorable, but they’ve set off a wave of apprehension. They plan on having faith-based schools (the degree to which Islam will be part of the curriculum is unclear), and although non-Muslims are supposedly welcome, they have made clear that they want a place for Muslims to come to be together. Those who are concerned are told that they are over-reacting, and EPIC leaders say that ignorance and bigotry underlay these attitudes. Here is the reaction of one leader of the EPIC mosque:

‘It should go without saying that our community, like any other in this great state, will follow all local, state and federal laws,’ the post read. ‘We would love for you to see the site and learn about our project over some Hutchins BBQ.’

Is this just some fringe group of isolationists? Not quite:

The EPIC City developments are in unincorporated areas of Josephine, a nearly two-square-mile city between Collin and Hunt counties growing rapidly in recent years. In 2023, the population grew by nearly 5,000 people—a 234% increase in the course of three years.

Those numbers could increase even more with the help of EPIC City – the first 450 plots sold out within days of its announcements on the mosque’s website, [resident scholar Yasir] Qadhi said.

‘The demand to move to our community is so high from across the country that we envision that demand would remain even if we created another parallel community,’ he said.

Muslims who move to this area will be living primarily (or entirely) with other Muslims. That decision will separate them from the greater community, and the non-assimilation will continue. Their adoption of Sharia law for the people will reinforce the Muslim beliefs, rather than build relationships with non-Muslims. They have already stated that Sharia law will be embedded in the community. Whether they intend to drop or ignore the tenets of Sharia law that conflict with Texas or local law is not clear.

Some progressive allies are trying to frame this development in a positive light:

Not everyone in the region supports the governor’s stance. Pastor Andy Odom of a nearby Presbyterian church, who frequently meets with Imam Bashir, defended the Muslim community as ‘great neighbors.’ He admitted to having mixed feelings about the development itself but said the mosque had been a positive force in Plano.

‘We all want the same things,’ Bashir said. ‘Safe neighborhoods. Good schools. Peace.’

Is that how Muslim communities around the world typically look? Safe and peaceful? One look at the Islamist third world would say… no.

There are those who may say that the new community will resemble some Orthodox Jewish communities, so what is the problem? Keep in mind that the Orthodox Jews come together not only to make it easier to maintain their way of life, but they are not in the business of recruiting or converting others to Judaism under the threat of death.

Islam, on the other hand, wishes to create a new caliphate to rule the entire population.

Could that kind of effort be made in this country?

Perhaps we look to the European harbingers to anticipate where this might lead.

A Texas mosque that has sparked controversy over its plans to build a city for Muslims outside of Dallas already has an existing neighborhood, The Daily Mail can reveal.

The Islamic community in Plano is already home to hundreds of Allah's followers, and features expensive, two story homes, a shopping center and a clinic.

The East Plano Islamic Center or EPIC, intends to break ground on a town for its followers near the City of Josephine- about 40 minutes away from the existing mosque.

EPIC City, as the project is known, would be anchored by a brand new mosque and include 1,000 homes, green spaces and schools for the people of that faith.

However, the future of the EPIC City is in jeopardy, after hundreds of locals have fiercely spoken out against the mosque's efforts- storming a public meeting where officials were considering whether to grant EPIC building permits.

Additionally, Gov. Greg Abbott has promised the development will 'never see the light of day' while accusing EPIC of breaking the law and practicing Sharia law.

Even though not a single person has been arrested or charged in connection to Abbott's many accusations about what he claims is happening at EPIC, hysteria is at a fever pitch, with mosque-goers getting death threats.

But even before a single brick of the planned city is laid, EPIC already has a sprawling neighborhood around it in Plano.

The green domed house of worship is massive, large enough to accommodate 3,200 worshippers, making it one of the largest mosques in the Lone Star State.

Located in Plano, Texas, the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) anchors an Islamic community. Dozens of two-story homes around the mosque. Businesses that cater to Muslims are also nearby

Giant parking lots surround the mosque, and the property is also the site of a gym, schools, and a clinic.

On either side of the mosque are dozens of homes featuring Arabic writing on their facades.

Luxury cars could be seen parked in the driveways, and most of the properties are valued at around $1 million, according to public tax records.

People can be seen walking from their homes to the mosque for their daily five times of prayer.

Many members of the mosque also live in the apartment complex directly across the street from EPIC.

Their way of life spills out even further to a shopping center for Muslims.

The biggest store is EPIC Market, a halal-certified grocery store.

There are also two restaurants and a coffee shop that lends out prayer rugs to customers sipping on Yemeni brews.

Dari Living, which describes itself as 'America's first luxury senior residence embracing Islamic traditions' on its website is also located there.

Despite repeated requests for interviews, EPIC and its lawyer did not respond toThe Daily Mail

However, some of the community members did speak with us, puzzled over the uproar caused EPIC City and warmly allowing us into their homes.

'They feel threatened in a way because they hear "city" and they think, "They are going to take us into their city and make us follow their rules," Nadeen Zeidan, 18, reasoned.

'They're just not educated, and they don't really know, so it's like, when you know things, you're kind of scared of them. I think when people are educated and they're friends with people who are Muslim, they warm up to it.'

While the young women don't live in the surrounding neighborhood, they travel to EPIC to study at the coffee shop and walk over to the mosque when it's time for prayer.

They called the ability to live near the mosque a 'convenience.'

'It's not like it's just for Muslims. Anyone can live there. The majority are Muslim,' Fatmeh Zeidan, 19, explained.

'Just because it's right next to the mosque. Just like I feel like a lot of people who go to church, they try to live by the church so they can go often. They can walk there, it's like close by to them,' Nadeen added.

In Islam, the requirement to pray five times a day is a pillar of their faith, especially for men who expected to pray at a mosque when possible.

Members of the community in Plano have criticized the hysteria surrounding the new project

It's the reason Alia Hayat, 80, and her husband moved from Houston to Plano in 2019 to live one street away from EPIC.

'This is a very expensive area. Everybody cannot afford to live in this house, but we sacrificed to live in this area because we want to be close to the mosque,' the grandmother explained.

When they first moved, they were in better health, she explained, and could walk to EPIC.

Hayat, originally from Pakistan, doesn't go to EPIC as often she used to due to back pain, but she is still a part of a women's senior group at the mosque.

She's concern about recent online posts where the addresses of mosque leaders have been posted online to intimidate them.

'It hurts us know that people are getting the wrong idea, but I mean, we can pray. Whatever wrong conception they got, it is nothing like that,' Hayat said.

The parking lot outside the mosque in Plano, Texas, surrounded by homes and businesses

If EPIC City is ever constructed, Hayat explained she believes a big draw will be the adhan-- a loudspeaker or min prayer that announces the call to prayer.

'You cannot hear it in America. You don't have any place where you can hear the adhan. So you know, you just go there and you hear it and it just increases our faith,' she shared.

But the idea of a minaret blaring Arabic music is exactly what scares residents of the town of Josephine-- where EPIC City is planned.

'They want to install a loud system, a speaker system, that would blast their music to call them to prayer, and they could do it as long as they wanted to because they specifically choose a site just outside the city so they can do that,' resident Susan Martinez told the commission.

She also shared that her small community of 2,000 people is already dealing with water restrictions, even without any new construction.

'Last summer, we did not only lose water pressure, we ran out of water one day because a construction site had left water on by mistake.'