Austin Bars Won't Reopen Amid Pandemic: Travis County Judge

AUSTIN, TX — Bars across Travis County will remain closed despite a gubernatorial order allowing for limited reopening given increased hospitalizations for the coronavirus, officials said Wednesday.

Citing a memorandum from the interim health authority urging for bars to remain closed, Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe said the region will not opt-in to reopen bars at 50 percent occupancy as outlined by a gubernatorial order issued last week.

“Based on the memo from Dr. Mark Escott, COVID-19 continues to be a threat to Travis County," Biscoe wrote in a prepared statement provided to Patch. "In the past ten days, Travis County has seen an increase in hospitalized individuals, ICU bed utilization, and ventilator use. As such, I cannot in good conscience allow bars to reopen at 50 percent of capacity at this time. The risk to our public health is too great, especially now that students of all ages have returned to the classroom."

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The judge said data will continue to be monitored to determine if a partial reopening of bars will be warranted in two weeks' time: “As we move forward, I will continue to work with Dr. Escott to reevaluate data collected and in 14 days will determine if Travis County is in a position to safely reopen bars. Until then, I encourage everyone to continue practicing safety measures that will help us reduce the transmission of COVID-19.”

A spokesman for Biscoe provided a copy of Escott's memo that guided the judge's decision. The memo was sent on Tuesday.

"In preparation for the following recommendations, I have reviewed the Governor’s Executive Order 32, the Checklist for Bars or Similar Establishments, as well as the current COVID-19 trends in Travis County," Escott wrote. "The county continues to be in Stage 3 of our COVID-19 risk assessment which has been in place since August 25, 2020, following a downward trend in hospitalizations."

Escott added: "While Travis County has been oscillating in terms of hospitalizations over the past month, the trend over the past 7-10 days creates a more concerning picture for the next month. The data related to hospitalized individuals, ICU bed utilization and ventilator use for COVID-19, all indicate an upward trend with UT COVID-19 modeling indicating a 66 percent chance of a worsening pandemic locally over the next month."

The statistics speak to the need for continued closure, Escott suggested, saying the region may experience an 87 percent increase in admissions, a 55 percent increase in hospital bed use and a 64 percent increase in ICU bed utilization by November 1.

Escott cited the current flu season as another reason to hold off on opening bars up again: "Additionally, the beginning of influenza season creates a second threat to the ability of our healthcare system to manage a surge which may be exacerbated by increasing community risk at this stage. "

While appreciative a need to restart the economy, Escott suggested the health of the community trumps economic jump-start: "While it is important to identify avenues for our business community to reopen and thrive, we must continue to prioritize the health and safety of this community and our ability to ensure that our schools can successfully stay open for in-person learning. Therefore, it is my recommendation that bars and similar establishments be prohibited from reopening at this stage. Further, I recommend that the re-evaluation of risk associated with bar reopening begin following the collection of data for an additional 14 days to determine if this recommendation may be revised."

In his previous order, Gov. Greg Abbott left it to county judges in making the determination to reopen bars at 50 percent occupancy, prompting officials in Hays and Williamson counties to opt in. In his earlier reopening plan, Abbott included bars in the multi-phased process of allowing business to resume operations before ordering bar operators to close their doors again.

Health officials have painted bars as hotbeds for respiratory illness given en masse congregations of patrons in typically close quarters.