BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — Brazos County Judge Duane Peters released a statement Monday, declaring all bar establishments can open on October 14. This comes after Governor Abbott issued an executive order last week allowing for the businesses to reopen. There are a couple of guidelines to follow.
There are a couple of things that need to be kept in mind before this goes into effect.
Bars or any other establishment that holds a permit from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) and is not labeled as a restaurant may be at 50 percent capacity. The bar or establishment cannot reopen if there is a high number of hospitalizations within its county. Customers also must maintain social distancing and can't be in groups of more than 10 people, according to the executive order.
Customers can only eat or drink while seated, unless it is a distiller or winery. Customers at those establishments are allowed in groups of six or less and there must be partitions between groups, as well as maintaining social distancing.
Brazos County constables J.P. Ingram of Precinct 3 and Isaac Butler of Precinct 4 have volunteered to monitor bar owners and customers so that the CDC guidelines can be maintained.
There is a final step in this process. Judge Peters submitted the paperwork to the TABC, but the agency still needs to approve it. If the agency approves the paperwork, the bars and establishments will be allowed to open on October 14.
We will hear later today from Judge Peters on this process. We'll bring you more updates as they become available.