TYLER, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott says he is confident in schools’ ability to reopen, but mentioned that it could be a while before bars can do the same.
Gov. Abbott spoke about the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic during a news conference Tuesday in Beaumont. Brewery, vineyard, and bar owners protested outside, asking to be allowed to open again.
“We just need our community to keep supporting us, which they have,” Tyler Blount, owner of Neches Brewing Company, said. “The only thing that we are allowed to do is sell beer to-go. Same with vineyards around here. That’s not enough revenue to pay the bills. We’re a young business. We just want to be open like everyone else.”
Gov. Abbott says he understands their concerns. “One of the things we can do to assist them would be to get their businesses back up and running,” he said. “And one of the best things we can do to achieve that is by everyone working collaboratively to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
However, the governor says he wants to see the COVID-19 positivity rate fall and stay below 10% and for hospitalizations to keep falling before deciding that bars are safe to reopen.
“The fact of the matter is, the way that bars are structured, they are structured for people to come together, close together without face masks, in situations where people frequently become intoxicated,” he explained. “And when they become intoxicated, they lose the discipline that they need to maintain the practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
While the number of COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals has steadily fallen for the last few weeks, the positivity rate has skyrocketed. The rate, which the state measures as the percentage of tests from the past week that come back positive, went from 12% at the end of July to 23% on Tuesday. When Gov. Abbott closed bars down, he says it was because hospitalizations were rising and the positivity rate had crossed above 10%, and says evidence pointed to bars as a source of outbreaks. He says bar operators would have to prove they can adhere to the safety guidelines issued by the state, as well.
He also addressed the beginning of the school year. He says he is confident that schools will be able to welcome students back to campus in a safe manner.
“A lot of people have talked about pictures that were observed about high schools in Georgia with crowded hallways, etc.,” he said. “Texas Education Agency has provided strategies that should avoid things like that, such as students wearing masks, such as having staggered openings, so you don’t have all students coming into a hallway at any particular time.”
He reiterated his belief that local school districts can make better decisions than state leaders about how they should operate but says their efforts will not matter if the rest of the population does not make an effort, too.
“The only way to reduce the spread,” he said, “is by everyone continuing to do the best practices of wearing a mask, keeping your distance from others, staying at home if at all possible, using frequent hand sanitizing to make sure that you are reducing the spread of COVID-19.”
“We will continue to push personal protective equipment to our local partners, including our school districts,” Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Department of Emergency Management, said. “Our warehouses are full. We have 46 warehouses across the state right now that are busting with PPE. We continue to order, we continue to push. If we hear isolated pockets of needs of PPE, it’s a phone call or a text, and it’s usually a link in communication, it’s not a resource that we need.”
Gov. Abbott also says he would be in favor of a return of college football this fall, in the wake of decisions by the Big Ten and Pac-12 to suspend their seasons. “I support the student-athletes and their decisions,” he said, “But I think that the health and safety and the careers of the student-athletes come first.”