Bars Close, Restaurants Face Capacity Limits as COVID Surges

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins announced Thursday that non-essential business occupancy limits will decrease from 75% to 50%, effective immediately. These include all restaurants, retail stores, office buildings, manufacturing facilities, gyms, museums and libraries in Dallas County. This follows Gov. Greg Abbott's order that if a region has more than...

By Taylor Adams

December 4, 2020

Bars will remain closed in Dallas County for the time being. Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash

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Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins announced Thursday that nonessential business occupancy limits will decrease from 75% to 50%, effective immediately.

These include all restaurants, retail stores, office buildings, manufacturing facilities, gyms, museums and libraries in Dallas County.

This follows Gov. Greg Abbott's order that if a region has more than 15% of beds occupied by COVID-19 patients for seven consecutive days, these rollbacks would be followed.

Bars will go from 50% capacity to being fully closed.

The trauma service area for our region, which includes Dallas County, had 15.55% of its hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients Thursday, according to the Texas Department of State and Health Services.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission will inform business and bar owners of the policy change, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The restrictions remain in place until the percentage drops below 15% for seven consecutive days.

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Taylor Adams has written about the restaurant industry for the Dallas Observer since 2016. She attended Southern Methodist University before covering local news at The Dallas Morning News.

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