After the Department of Health reported nearly 9,000 new COVID-19 cases in Florida, the state is suspending the consumption of alcohol at all bars statewide.
The announcement was made Friday afternoon on Twitter by Halsey Beshears, the Secretary of Department of Business & Professional Regulation. “Effective immediately, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide,” wrote Beshears.
There’s still plenty of details that aren’t clear. According to the Executive Order, which you can read in its entirety here, establishments are still allowed to serve alcohol, as long they derive 50 percent or less of gross revenue from the sale of on-site booze. Establishments that derive more than 50 percent of gross sales from alcohol, will not be able to continue to operate.
However, bars will be able to continue selling pre-packaged alcohol.
The order was made shortly after the state reported 8,942 new coronavirus cases, a new single-day record that absolutely demolishes the state’s previous record of 5,511 new cases, which was just set on Wednesday.
Florida now has a 13.5 percent positivity rate for new tests conducted, and has had 24 straight days with new cases near or over 1,000 per day.
Today, the Governor of Texas announced that his state would close all bars, and roll back restaurant occupancy.
“As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10 percent, the State of Texas would take further action,” Gov. 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.”
Florida now has a 13.5 percent positivity rate for new tests conducted, and has had 24 straight days with new cases near or over 1,000 per day.
According to Johns Hopkins, “On May 12, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) advised governments that before reopening, rates of positivity in testing (ie, out of all tests conducted, how many came back positive for COVID-19) of should remain at 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days.”
UPDATED: 06/26/20 1:20 p.m. Updated with links to, and info on, the executive order.
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This article appears in Summer Guide 2020: Salvage the Season.
