Bar owners worry as virus cases surge
HOUSTON: The din of conversation and music that normally fills The Cottonmouth Club in downtown Houston fell silent last Friday (Saturday in Manila) when the owners shut it down for a second time during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic — a week before the Texas governor ordered all bars to follow suit amid a surge in infections.
Co- owner Michael Neff — questioning what he saw as a rush to reopen by the state and wondering if his industry was making things worse as some bars flouted rules on occupancy limits — said he felt he could no longer provide a safe environment for his staff or customers at the neighborhood bar with a rock ‘n’ roll vibe.
He and his staff had started hearing of workers at other bars getting sick.
“Texas was a terrible, terrible experiment because it experimented with people’s lives and this is where we are,” Neff said.
That ended on Friday, with Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement that bars would again be shuttered, a day after the state reported a record high of nearly 6,000 confirmed cases and on the day that Texas surpassed 5,000 hospitalizations for the first time.
Neff said while he faulted bars that ignored the rules, he also lays blame on local and state officials for what he says was a lack of guidance and support, a lack of a statewide mask order and, until recently, a lack of enforcement.
It’s a sentiment shared by other bar and restaurant owners across the state and beyond who have been deeply hurt financially by anti-virus measures and are also struggling with tough decisions, with some shutting down again after workers became infected or closing as a precaution because of rising cases in their areas.
In a nearly eight-minute video he posted online earlier this month, Neff vented his frustration, beginning with a message directed at Abbott: “You’re leading us to die.”
An email seeking comment from a spokesman for Abbott was not immediately returned Friday. During a news conference on Monday (Tuesday), Abbott said the goal has always been to reduce cases and keep people out of hospitals.
“Texans have already shown that we don’t have to choose between jobs and health,” he added. “We can protect Texans’ lives while also restoring their livelihoods.”
From the time bars and clubs in Texas could reopen on May 22 with indoor service, social media has been filled with photos and videos showing packed businesses that were obviously not following rules on capacity and social distancing. But the first operation by the state to suspend the alcohol permits of establishments that ignored rules didn’t happen until a week ago.
In closing bars again on Friday, Abbott said the rise in confirmed cases was “largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars.” Abbott also ordered restaurants to scale back to half capacity starting on Monday (Tuesday in Manila).
He added that “every Texan has a responsibility to themselves and their loved ones to wear a mask” — but he has not mandated their use statewide. Last week, he did say cities and counties could order businesses to require that their customers wear masks.
A similar clampdown is happening in several states where confirmed infections are spiking. In some places, owners are doing it voluntarily, as Neff did. On Friday, Florida banned alcohol consumption at bars after confirmed Covid-19 cases neared 9,000.