Texas governor Greg Abbott is lifting more Wuhan coronavirus-inspired business restrictions:
Monday saw new information released on Phase 2 of Texas’ recovery plan.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced the new guidelines at a press conference Monday.
Phase 2 includes opening dates and health and safety guidelines and checklists for everything from bars and breweries to day cares, summer camps and even aquariums.
After being effectively shuttered for months, and putting thousands of bartenders and servers out of work, bars in Texas will be allowed to reopen Friday, Abbott said.
Under new guidelines, bars will be allowed to reopen at 25 percent capacity under very strict guidelines, he said. Breweries, wineries and wine tasting rooms are also included under these new guidelines.
Likewise restaurants, which had already been allowed to reopen at 25 percent capacity will be allowed to increase to 50 percent capacity starting Friday.
Abbott also issued minimum standard health protocols that bars must follow to keep patrons safe.
The restrictions are more of the “mother may I” rules that both patrons and establishments will probably start ignoring almost immediately.
Abbott is also lifting restrictions on sports facilities (or at least letting such facilities apply to open without spectators), which is good, since the NBA is also allowing teams back in practice facilities (though with a restriction to four players in a facility at a time, actual team practices aren’t permitted yet).
Thanks to Republican control of all three branches of government, Texas hasn’t suffered under the extreme lockdown insanity that Democratic governors have imposed on places like Michigan and California. But given that Texas has suffered no spike in coronavirus cases, and that Georgia has also suffered no spike in cases despite lifting most of their lockdown order, Gov. Abbott’s reopening moves seem relatively timid. Republican activists are not impressed:
For more than two months, Texas has been ruled by the edicts from Gov. Greg Abbott’s office.
It’s been the governor—and the governor alone—who has decided which businesses can reopen and how many people they can allow inside. The governor’s directives have strayed in the mundane operations of individuals, such as noting how often their employees must wash their hands.
As Empower Texans CEO Michael Quinn Sullivan asked rhetorically last week: “Are we finding we don’t actually need a legislative branch, with all their pesky drama and hand-wringing?”
Such is the case in current-day Texas. This is the status quo in a state where the legislature and the Supreme Court have thus far refrained from reining in the power of what’s essentially become an absolute executive.
As with the previous partial reopening announcements by Abbott, grassroots activists like Julie McCarty of the True Texas Project say Texans should not be satisfied with merely an additional portion of the freedom their leaders have taken from them.
“I get what Abbott is doing, he’s trying to save his own skin by doing just enough to not be fully blamed by either side. That’s appeasement, not leadership, and it accomplishes nothing,” McCarty told Texas Scorecard. “Texans have had enough with these made-up orders that don’t follow common sense. It’s time for Abbott to fish or cut bait; he doesn’t deserve any praise for piecemeal actions that put his lack of leadership skills on full display.”