Hidalgo orders gyms, bars, salons closed till May 20

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, wary of the continued threat of the novel coronavirus, on Friday evening ordered all nonessential businesses not reopened by Gov. Greg Abbott to remain closed until May 20.

These firms include: gyms, public pools, amusement parks, bowling alleys, concert and bingo halls, game rooms, indoor sports facilities, barbers, hair and nail salons, as well as massage, tattoo and piercing parlors.

Bars must remain closed, but drive-thru and to-go alcohol sales are permitted.

Abbott on Friday opened most businesses that had been closed under his statewide stay-at-home order. Retail businesses, restaurants, movie theaters, churches libraries, museums and malls were allowed to open at 25 percent capacity.

Harris County residents remain under mandatory face-covering rules in public places through May 22.

Hidalgo’s Harris County stay-athome order, which went into effect March 24, expired Thursday. She has cited a good working relationship with the governor throughout the pandemic. Abbott’s reopening of businesses, however, came before Harris County had met Hidalgo’s benchmarks she said were necessary to do so: a peak of the virus here and the availability of widespread testing.

Hidalgo said Thursday she was confident Abbott would re-examine his order, which supersedes all local rules, if the state experienced a surge in cases.

The Houston region added 299 cases Friday, a 3 percent increase to 9,529. The eight-county region has 196 deaths from the virus.