Earlier this afternoon, Austin Mayor Steve Adler ordered all restaurants and bars to close, and limited all gatherings to 10 people or less. The orders align with recommendations from President Donald Trump and go one step further than the CDC’s recommendation to restrict gatherings to fewer than 50 people. Restrictions on gatherings do not apply to grocery stores and pharmacies and curbside pickup, take-0ut, and delivery are still allowed at restaurants under the order. Violating the order carries a $1,000 fine.
Austin-Travis County is closing bars + suspending dine-in service at restaurants for 6 weeks under new Orders aimed at slowing the spread of #COVID19. These Orders went into effect at noon today, Mar. 17, and last until at least May 1.
‼️ More info: https://t.co/EpW1O7YrIg
(1/4) pic.twitter.com/9RDCQ10mSk— City of Austin (@austintexasgov) March 17, 2020
Many other U.S. cities have moved to temporarily closing bars and restaurants to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 including Houston and Dallas.
As of Tuesday, March 17th, there are 17 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the Austin-Travis County area.
Photo By PiercarloAbate / Shutterstock
