File photo
File photo
Judge Nathaniel Moran of Smith County has exercised his local authority to ease pandemic restrictions for local bars and businesses in response to Gov. Greg Abbott’s Oct. 7 executive order.
The order, known as GA-32, went into effect on Oct. 14 and expands occupation up to 50% capacity for qualifying bars in the state of Texas. Counties that have local hospitals with less than 15% of their capacity filled with COVID-19 patients will qualify for these expansions. Once a county’s hospital capacity has fallen below 15%, a local judge may then open up bars to more customers.
As a result, Smith County meets the order’s qualifications.
“I am thankful for this opportunity to exercise local discretion to provide a pathway for our bars to get back to business as quickly as possible and to the fullest extent possible,” Moran said.
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