North Texas bars face closures as COVID-19 hospitalizations exceed Gov. Abbott’s limit
North Texas bars could close and other businesses could further limit occupancy if the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region doesn’t go down.
That’s because for the last four days, the number of patients battling COVID-19 in North Texas hospitals has gone over Gov. Greg Abbott’s limit of 15% of all beds. If it continues at this capacity for three days, it will trigger the restrictions he outlined in his October executive order.
On Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, COVID-19 hospitalizations in the 19-county North Texas Trauma Service Area topped the 15% mark and there were 2,435 COVID-19 patients in the region on Monday, according to state data.
There were 1,878 available hospital beds and 117 available ICU beds in the region.
But, the North Texas region isn’t alone as it follows a state trend. Twelve of the state’s 22 Trauma Service Areas have surpassed the 15% threshold at least once in the last three days.
Abbott’s order allowed businesses to increase capacity to 75% and bars to open, but requires that COVID-19 hospitalizations do not exceed 15% of capacity for seven consecutive days in a region. If seven days pass and hospitalization in the regions continue to top the threshold, bars will be forced close once again and businesses would be back at 50% capacity.
The 19-county North Texas region includes Tarrant and Dallas counties as well as Parker, Denton and Collin counties.
Tarrant County has seen a record-breaking number of coronavirus cases. The county has reported over 17,000 confirmed cases in the last three weeks. Hospitalizations have also risen. The county reported Monday that 24% of occupied beds were being used by COVID-19 patients, 4% more than what the county reported at its previous peak in July.
The county on Monday surpassed a total of 100,000 coronavirus cases reported. As of Monday, the county has reported 100,650 cases and 843 deaths.
On Nov. 17, Vinny Taneja, the county’s public health director, described the COVID-19 surge as “dire” and pleaded for restaurants to voluntarily reduce capacity and bars to close to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Some did roll back on operations, such as closing dining rooms and reducing hours of operation.
County Judge Glen Whitley has said before he isn’t too worried about the current surge as hospital executives in Tarrant County have told him that they know how to deal with the virus better. The judge also has said that doctors at Baylor, Scott & White-Fort Worth have used Bamlanivimab, a drug used in mild and moderate COVID-19 cases. He expects many more hospitals in the area to use this drug to treat the virus.
But improvements in treatment have not stopped Whitley from urging schools to suspend athletic events and extending the county’s mask mandate until Feb. 28 to combat the spread. These are the only two things that the judge has been able to do.
Whitley could close bars down, but he believes that won’t do any good. He has said bars would just operate as restaurants and get around it.
A spokesperson for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said 142 bars in Tarrant County switched to operating as restaurants since June to remain open.
Both Taneja and Whitley did not immediately respond to interview requests.
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 2:46 PM.
