Gov. Greg Abbott said in a live interview Monday afternoon with KRIS 6 News that he thinks the reason Texans under the age of 30 are being infected with COVID-19 at a higher rate recently is because they're not taking proper precautions when going out to bars, restaurants and other social settings.
Texas, however, has restrictions in place to try and curb too much interaction in bars and restaurants, such as only allowing table service, not allowing ordering at the bar, and not allowing tables of more than 10 people at a time.
"This is necessary to make sure that all of these businesses are following the protocols and standards, standards that were established by doctors knowing that if the standards were followed there should not be an increase,” Abbott said.
As of Friday, bars have been allowed to open at 50 percent capacity, and restaurants allowed to open at 75 percent capacity. On Monday, however, the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission issued a warning to bar and restaurants stating if they violate those restrictions, their liquor licenses could be suspended for 30 days. If they continue to not comply, then their licenses can be suspended for 60 days.
Meanwhile, the latest numbers out of Nueces county show there are 80 confirmed COVID-19 cases for people 20-to-29 years old. The most COVID-19 cases in our area came from people in this age group.
"It's hard to tell exactly where those people are contracting COVID," Abbott said. "It could be Memorial Day celebrations, it could be a bar setting, coffee or some other type of gathering."
In the meantime, Abbott is still encouraging everyone to continue to wear masks, wash their hands and stay at home if they can.