Governor’s Order Reopens Many Businesses On Limited Basis

AUSTIN — An executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott to reopen in-store retail shopping, dine-in restaurants, movie theaters, museums, libraries and more took effect May 1 and will continue through May 15.

As Texas, the rest of the United States and the world’s nations seek to balance cries for increased commercial activity — and the jobs that result — while also containing the spread of the deadly influenza-like virus, COVID-19, Abbott’s order allows most venues to operate at up to 25% of their total listed occupancy with certain other conditions applying.

For example, shopping malls may operate at up to 25% of their total listed occupancy. However, their food-court dining areas, play areas and interactive displays and settings must remain closed.

Abbott’s order, in accordance with guidelines issued by White House and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reminds Texans that schools remain closed to in-person classroom attendance by students through the end of the 2019- 2020 school year. Meanwhile, teachers and staff are encouraged to continue to work remotely from home if possible but may return to campuses to conduct remote video instruction and perform administrative duties under strict terms required by the Texas Education Agency. Also, private schools and institutions of higher education are urged to establish similar terms to allow faculty and staff to return to campuses to conduct remote video instruction and perform administrative duties when it is not possible to do so from home.

Notably, the order does not prohibit people from accessing essential or reopened services or engaging in essential daily activities, such as going to the grocery store or gas station, providing or obtaining other essential or reopened services, visiting parks, hunting or fishing or engaging in physical activity like jogging, bicycling or other outdoor sports, “so long as the necessary precautions are maintained to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and to minimize inperson contact with people who are not in the same household.”

The complete executive order is available at gov.texas.gov.

Cumulative figures posted by the Texas Department of State Health Services at noon on May 3 showed that some 31,548 people in Texas had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and 867 deaths had been confirmed as resulting from the influenza-like virus.