Are Texas bars about to reopen? Gov. Abbott sends message toasting openings amid COVID
Texas could be about to lift more coronavirus safety limitations.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced “more openings soon” in a message posted on social media on Monday afternoon.
Abbott included a GIF of two beer mugs toasting with his message, which appears to indicate he might allow Texas bars to reopen at some capacity. Abbott closed bars in late June when coronavirus cases began to spike.
Texas defines a bar as an establishment where alcohol makes up more than 51% of sales.
Texas’ Department of State Health Services has reported 769,300 COVID-19 cases, including 16,033 deaths. There were eight pandemic-related deaths in the state reported on Monday, the fewest since March.
As of Monday, there are an estimated 3,318 patients hospitalized with the coronavirus in Texas.
Tarrant County reported its fewest cases (266) in a week on Monday, a day after reporting a seven-week high of 601 cases. Hospitalizations continued to tick back up in the county.
“Texans have continued to keep COVID under control,” Abbott said. “The hospitalizations, number of new positive cases, and positivity rate remain contained. Today was one of the lowest for fatalities in a long time. I will be announcing more openings soon. Cheers!”
This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 6:21 PM.
