TOPLINE
A number of Austin, Texas-area bars and restaurants closed again after employees contracted Covid-19.
A bartender cleans the counter at a bar in Austin, Texas on Friday, May 22, 2020.
SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images
KEY FACTS
Nine restaurants and bars in Austin and neighboring New Braunfels, Texas closed (though some reopened after about 48 hours) in early June and late May because staffers tested positive for Covid-19, reports Eater Austin and Community Impact.
Democratic Austin Mayor Steve Adler said in a Friday KXAN radio interview he’s concerned that restaurant reopening has—and will—spread the disease and increase hospitalizations.
Texas recorded its highest number of new coronavirus cases Friday (2,001) during a record-breaking week for the number of positive test results.
Austin health officials attribute the area spike to an increase in “risk-taking behavior” that includes failure to wear masks, comply with social distancing and maintain personal sanitation habits like handwashing, according to the Statesman.
Crucial Quote
“We have a lot of people out there living their lives like the virus is over,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler told radio station KXAN. “It would be less of a concern if people were wearing face coverings and maintain that six-foot distancing.”
Key Background
On May 1, Texas became one of the earliest states to reopen from coronavirus shutdowns, with restaurants allowed to seat diners at 25% capacity. As of today, restaurants can fill up to 75% of their dine-in areas and bars can seat at 50%, which Adler also flagged as a concern that could lead to an upswing in new diagnoses. Texas, along with Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and others, have experienced record-breaking numbers of new coronavirus diagnoses this week, though cases on average in the United States remain relatively flat per New York Times data, though this is partially a factor of the declining cases in New York, previously the disease’s global epicenter.
Further Reading
Lax social distancing, mask habits tied to coronavirus surge, Austin officials say (Statesman)
More Austin Bars Close Briefly Because of Staffers With COVID-19 (Eater Austin)
Mayor Adler: ‘Concerned we’re on that path’ of overwhelming hospitals with spike in COVID-19 cases (KXAN)
UPDATE: New Braunfels restaurants close temporarily after employees test positive for COVID-19 (Community Impact)