Texan Bars closed as virus surges … Again.

By Fredericksburg Standard Post News Staff, Dec. 30, 2020

Gillespie County among many other counties’ bars will have to close and businesses now operating at 75% were ordered to scale back to 50% capacity beginning at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, County Judge Mark Stroeher announced after an order by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

Under Abbott’s Executive Order GA-32, which was issued on Oct. 7, Trauma Service Areas with an over 15% COVID-19 hospitalization rate for seven consecutive days must cut most businesses’ capacity limits to 50%.

Gillespie County is in Trauma Service Area P, which has exceeded that number for the past seven days, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Occupancy limits don’t affect religious services, local government operations, child care services, youth camps, recreational sports programs, public or private schools, hair salons, barbershops, cosmetology salons, nail salons, and other shops.

Also, according to the order, it doesn’t affect “services listed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in its Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce, Version 4.0 or any subsequent version.”

With this announcement, Stroeher reiterated the continuing of wearing face coverings, washing hands and staying six feet away from others.

“We have been dealing with this pandemic for a long time now and people are tired,” Stroeher said.

He also encouraged people to get vaccinated when it becomes available to them.

“The vaccine is coming in slower than what everyone was hoping, but fortunately, it is coming,” he said. “I ask that folks continue to do all those things that the CDC and our elected officials have been encouraging all along — continue to wear masks or other facial coverings, wash your hands frequently and maintain at least six feet of social distancing when possible. I also encourage people to get vaccinated when the vaccine becomes available to us.

“We must work together to overcome this invisible enemy so that we can get our lives and our economy back to normal in the near future. Please help us.”

See the original article: https://www.fredericksburgstandard.com/news-news-alert/bars-closed-again-virus-surges