Texas moved closer to reopening the state on Tuesday, with Gov. Greg Abbott signing an executive order to allow food courts at shopping malls, water parks, and adult recreational sports leagues to resume, but with conditions.
Abbott said the move marked an additional expansion of Phase II as his state returns to normalcy after shutdowns because of the coronavirus, reports The Daily Mail. The state has already allowed bars, restaurants, and movie theaters to reopen at 25 percent capacity.
According to the order:
- Food courts can resume service effective immediately and must follow guidelines on sanitation and social distancing. All tables must be disinfected after each use and tables must be positioned at least 6 feet apart.
- Shopping malls remain limited to 25% capacity.
- Water parks can start opening on Friday, but their video arcades must remain closed. The parks must limit occupancy to 25% of normal limits.
- Recreational sports programs for adults can resume on Sunday but games and competitions can't begin until June 15.
- Driver education programs can also resume operations immediately.
Texas has had 56,560 people test positive for COVID-19 and 1,536 deaths.The state estimates it has around 22,000 active cases, and daily new cases have been flat or declining in recent weeks.
The full guidelines for opening are shown on the state's Open Texas website.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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