On Friday, Texas became the first state to reimpose a lockdown as it faces what Gov. Greg Abbott described as a "massive outbreak" of COVID-19 cases following its attempted reopening, The Hill reports.
Abbott's executive order will close bars that had previously been allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity, beginning at noon on Friday (bars may remain open for delivery and takeout). Restaurants are also being scaled back from being allowed to operate at 75 percent capacity for dine-in service to 50 percent capacity, beginning Monday. Outdoor gatherings of over 100 people are once more banned (the number had recently been raised to 500), and river-rafting trips and tubing have also been halted.
"At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars," Abbott said in his statement, adding "we can only slow the spread if everyone in Texas does their part."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Texas initially imposed its statewide lockdown in mid-March. Abbott allowed restaurants to reopen on May 1 at limited capacity, followed by bars on May 22, also at limited capacity. "The state now has almost twice as many people hospitalized with COVID-19 as it did on June 14, when the number was at 2,287," writes CBS News. "This spike occurred after restaurants were allowed to increase capacity to 75 percent and almost all businesses allowed to operate with some safety measures in place."
As recently as Thursday, Abbott had insisted that "the last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses."
-
Political cartoons for October 25Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include hospital bill trauma, Independence Day, and more
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
-
Ukraine: Donald Trump pivots againIn the Spotlight US president apparently warned Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Vladimir Putin’s terms or face destruction during fractious face-to-face
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
