Bars shutdown in Texas and Florida as COVID-19 cases spike

(KYMA, KECY)-The governors of Texas and Florida closed down bars Friday to slow down the spread of the coronavirus.

Halsey Beshears, the head of Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation, said the policy would be in effect “immediately.”

As far as Texas Governor, Gregg Abbott, made his move one day after he hit the pause button on Texas’ plans to reopen and the numbers of new cases continued to soar. He also put strict limits on restaurant dining in his new order, according to NBC News.

“As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10% the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Abbott said in a statement. “At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars.”

With Friday's tally, Florida now has reported nearly 123,000 coronavirus case, with more than 32,000 of them confirmed in just the last seven days.