Texas Governor Hints Bars May Be Reopened Amid Coronavirus

AUSTIN, TX — Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday hinted that he may allows bars to reopen across Texas, citing a pronounced drop in fatalities from the coronavirus.

"Texans have continued to keep COVID under control," Abbott wrote on Twitter at 3:15 p.m. "The hospitalizations, number of new positive cases, and positivity rate remain contained. Today was one of the lowest for fatalities in a long time."

The governor added he will be announcing more openings soon, ending with a cryptic salutation: "Cheers!"

This is a developing story. Patch will update when more details are known.

At the end of last month, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported that in a seven-day span from Sept. 24-30, Texas averaged 3,181 new cases per day; 3,235 current hospitalizations; and 83 new fatalities reported per day.

"The decrease in new cases and hospitalizations has stopped in the last 7 days," agency officials wrote, ending with the hashtag #HealthyTexas.

On Monday, Texas reported 2,192 new cases of the coronavirus with eight new deaths. All told, 769,303 cases have been reported since the onset of illness and 16,033 deaths.

Myriad businesses have been reopened at limited capacity since the onset of respiratory illness save for bars, where people crowd in close quarters — potentially spreading illness along the way. The governor earlier this year allowed bars to reopen, only to order them shut again after infection rates rose.