Prognosis

Texas Clamps Down on Bars in Pullback From Governor’s Reopening

  • Houston-area declaring highest level of emergency amid spread
  • Measures come ahead of Vice President Pence’s visit to state
A musician plays to a mostly empty bar in Austin, Texas on June 25.Photographer: Sergio Flores/Bloomberg
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Bars in Texas were ordered to shut and restaurants will face renewed restrictions as Governor Greg Abbott scales back the economic reopening amid a burst of new Covid-19 cases.

The positive-test rate for the virus has surpassed the 10% threshold that Abbott previously warned would trigger restrictions. In the county that encompasses Houston, one of the cities hardest hit by the virus’s second wave, a public health emergency was declared and residents were urged to stay at home.