Texas To Allow Bars To Reopen Friday, Sporting Events On May 31 - Governor Abbott

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2020) Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced on Monday that restaurants and bars will be allowed to open in his state at partial capacity on Friday and youth sports programs, summer camps and professional sports can resume on May 31.

"Beginning this Friday, May the 22nd, a long list of businesses can now reopen or expand capacity," Abbott said. "Restaurants can open to a 50 percent capacity. Bars, wine tasting rooms, craft breweries and similar businesses can open at a 25 percent capacity."

In addition, Abbott said that on May 31 youth sports programs and summer camps will be able to resume operations.

Professional sports like golf, auto racing, baseball, softball, tennis, football and basketball will also be able to resume on May 31, Abbott said.

The governor pointed out that summer school can begin on June 1 under safe distancing practices.

However, Abbott pointed out that the cities of El Paso and Amarillo are not prepared to enter into phase 2 of the reopening process.

Abbott said Texas is administering an average of 25,000 novel coronavirus tests each day and that there has been a downward trend in the number of Texans testing positive each week, from 13.8 percent on April 13 to 4.8 percent on May 16.

On Monday, several Texas businesses in office buildings, gyms and childcare services were allowed to reopen.

Other Texas businesses have been allowed to reopen since May 1, including retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters, malls, barbershops and hair salons. All licensed healthcare professionals in Texas have also been allowed to return to work under fewer restrictions.

To date, Texas has 47,784 confirmed novel coronavirus cases and 1,336 deaths related to the COVID-19 disease as of Monday, according to the state's Department of State Health Services. More than 27,500 Texans have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection, according to the data.