COVID-19Regulatory
The Great Coronavirus Rollback: Texas, Florida, And Nine More States Abandon Reopening Plans Amid Record Coronavirus Surge
June 26, 2020 / Sarah Hansen, Forbes Staff
TOPLINE
With a record 40,401 new cases of the coronavirus reported in the United States on Thursday alone—and many parts of the South and West now facing alarming spikes just weeks after beginning to reopen—these states are now hitting the pause button.
KEY FACTS
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday that all bars in the state must close (though they can remain open for take out and delivery) and restaurants must limit capacity—that edict comes just one day after Abbott said Texas must pause any further reopening as it grapples with record case numbers; he also issued an Executive Order suspending elective surgeries in four counties to preserve hospital bed availability for Covid-19 patients.
- Florida will shut down bars in an effort to mitigate a record spike in cases across the state, according to a Friday announcement from Halsey Beshears, Secretary of the Department of Business & Professional Regulation.
- Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards extended his state’s Phase 2 reopening Thursday for another 28 days; Louisiana was originally planning to move to Phase 3 on Friday.
- Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced Thursday that reopening would pause because the state did not yet meet its own criteria: “we’re tapping on the brakes,” he said.
