Wise County plans to reopen businesses to 50% capacity, per Abbott’s amended order
Wise County officials plan to reopen Friday per Gov. Greg Abbott’s amended pandemic orders.
The county, which has about 70,000 residents, is currently reporting five active coronavirus cases, the maximum allowed under the governor’s reopening rules to allow non-essential businesses to operate at up to 50% capacity. These include retail stores, restaurants and movie theaters.
Wise County has reported 17 COVID-19 cases, including two new cases Tuesday evening. Ten patients have recovered and two have died. The county has given 868 COVID-19 tests, including 780 negative results, 17 positive results, 41 pending results and 30 inconclusive results.
Wise County Judge J.D. Clark confirmed via email that if the county has more than five active cases by Friday, the county would reopen in Phase I at 25% capacity but could go to 50% when the active cases drop to five or fewer.
Besides having no more than five active COVID-19 cases, counties reopening must also meet multiple other requirements, including making tests available, providing public notices of the common COVID-19 symptoms, and providing CDC guidelines on pandemic protocols.
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 3:47 PM.
