Texas day care centers, bars can open this week

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced Monday that child care facilities will be allowed to reopen immediately, while bars will be allowed to reopen Friday.

Abbott also said restaurants would be allowed to expand capacity to 50 percent after allowing them to reopen at 25 percent on May 1. The announcement will not apply to two hot spots in the state, Amarillo and El Paso, which will have to wait a week, Abbott said in a press briefing Monday.

The governor’s initial order on May 1 allowed restaurants, retailers, malls and movie theaters to open at 25 percent capacity, while barbershops and salons were allowed to reopen May 8 and follow distancing guidelines.

The announcement comes two days after the state reported the largest single-day jump in cases with 1,801. The Department of State Health Services said 734 of those cases came from Randall and Potter counties, and attributed the increase largely from targeted testing of meat plant workers in the two counties. Amarillo is the seat of Potter County.

Abbott has highlighted the declining infection rate and stable hospitalization rate and said the state has ramped up testing, although it has been revealed in recent days that the testing data includes an unknown number of antibody tests.

In his press briefing, Abbott said the increases were spikes rather than “entrenchments” of the virus, and stressed the importance of Texans continuing to abide by social distancing and masking protocols.

“Today tomorrow and every day going forward, is one day closer to medical discoveries that will treat and protect people from getting COVID-19,” said Abbott. “Until that day, our focus is to keep you safe while also restoring your ability to get back to work. To open businesses to pay your bills, to put food on your table … a way to coexist with COVID-19. “

Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) last week wrote to officials in San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas, Bexar and Travis counties warning them against imposing stricter measures than those imposed statewide, saying they had “confused recommendations with requirements and have grossly exceeded state law to impose their own will on private citizens and businesses.”