Governor Greg Abbott Closing Bars Again Across Texas Today

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced this morning he will be closing bars again across the Lone State state due to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases. Yesterday, El Paso saw the largest spike in COVID-19 cases to date, with 233 new reported cases. The entire state is seeing record high COVID-19 cases, with everyday's high record being beaten the next day. According to the Texas Tribune, Governor Greg Abbott said one of the warning flags for Texas would be if the state's seven-day average positivity rate passed 10%. The state has now passed that the Governor Abbott is taking executive action to try and help stop the rise of cases in the state.

According to a new executive order, Governor Abbott will be limiting certain businesses including closing bars in the state. According to the order:

All bars and similar establishments that receive more than 51% of their gross receipts from the sale of alcoholic beverages are required to close at 12:00 PM today. These businesses may remain open for delivery and take-out, including for alcoholic beverages, as authorized by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
Restaurants may remain open for dine-in service, but at a capacity not to exceed 50% of total listed indoor occupancy, beginning Monday, June 29, 2020.
Rafting and tubing businesses must close.
Outdoor gatherings of 100 or more people must be approved by local governments, with certain exceptions.

During this announcement, the Governor said there is a clear connection between positive COVID-19 cases and certain activities, including going to bars. Governor Abbott did say he hopes these new restrictions would be for a limited duration but that will only be if everyone in the state does their part by: