The governors of Texas and Florida closed down bars Friday to slow down the spread of the coronavirus that has been rampaging at record levels through their states.
The bar shutdown in Florida comes as the state reported 8,942 new COVID-19 cases, shattering the previous record of 5,508 set two days ago, according to the state health department.
Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott made his move one day after he hit the pause button on Texas’ plans to reopen and the numbers of new cases continued to soar. He also put strict limits on restaurant dining in his new order.
“As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10% the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Abbott said in a statement. “At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars.”
All establishments that rake in more than 51 percent of income from alcohol had until noon to close their doors, although they would still be allowed to stay open for take-out or delivery sales.
Restaurants will be allowed to stay open, but starting Monday at less than 50 percent capacity.
Abbott’s order also extends to tourist-friendly businesses like tubing and rafting, which were ordered immediately closed. And public gatherings of 100 people or more will need to be approved by local governments, with certain unspecified exceptions, Abbott’s office said.
“We need everybody to religiously wear their masks and to social distance to see if we can get off that trajectory,” Austin mayor Steve Alder said on MSNBC.
With Friday’s tally, Florida now has reported nearly 123,000 coronavirus case, with more than 32,000 of them confirmed in just the last seven days.
Florida’s bar shutdown was conveyed by Halsey Beshears, the Secretary of Department of Business and Professional Regulation, in a Tweet.
Meanwhile, another Southern state, Alabama, was branded a COVID-19 hot-spot state Friday a day after health officials recorded 1,129 new cases — the most in a single day since the start of the pandemic.
As the pandemic showed no signs of slowing down, the Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare, endangering insurance coverage for some 20 million Americans.
If the nation’s top court sides with President Donald Trump, the highly popular pre-existing conditions protections could be wiped out.
