North Texas counties are declaring themselves 100% open for business despite COVID limits
A handful of rural counties in North Texas have declared themselves fully open for business, despite Gov. Greg Abbotts executive order that caps capacity for most businesses as the novel coronavirus continues to spread.
Businesses in the counties of Hood, Eastland and Stephens have been approved by the state to increase their max capacity from 50% to 75% a facet of Abbotts phased reopening of businesses that allows rural counties with 10 or fewer active COVID-19 cases to increase their capacity sooner than others.
But those counties have also taken it a step further. Earlier this month, Eastland County and Hood County declared themselves sanctuary counties for all businesses and Stephens County passed a similar resolution that said it was 100% Open for Business.
And Hood County officials argue that Abbotts most recent executive order allows their businesses to return to normal operating limits. They point to a section of the order that states that in counties that have received Texas Department of State Health Services approval, businesses that were subject to the 50% capacity limit may operate at up to 75 percent of the total listed occupancy or normal operating limit of the establishment starting 12:01 a.m. on June 12, 2020.
Read more: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/article243643562.html