Colleyvilles Orders Allowing Patio Dine-In Will Continue Until State Orders on Businesses Start Friday, Mayor Says – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Colleyvilles amended order on patio dine-in at restaurants will remain in place until Friday when some businesses will be allowed to reopen with capacity under new state orders.

Last week, a proclamation was signed by Colleyville Mayor Richard Newton which stated restaurants with outdoor patios can allow customers to dine-in so long as distancing guidelines are followed and tables are spaced apart. It also relaxed restrictions for on-site religious services, gyms, salons, and massage studios.

The citys amended order went into effect Friday, April 24 a full week before businesses like restaurants, movie theaters, malls, museums, and retail stores can reopen at 25 percent capacity under executive orders issued by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday.

The latest news from around North Texas.

Wegive very careful consideration to any proclamation that I give out, Mayor Newton told NBC 5 Tuesday. Thereis no need to make any changes until we match his new order.

Newton said his order will likely be amended in the comingdays so it will align with Abbotts latest executive order on Friday, adding noone from the Governors office has reached out to him in the past 24 hours. Thismeans restaurants can continue to operate with patio dine-in service untilThursday night, according to Newton.

NBC 5 reached out to Governor Abbotts office on Tuesday for clarification on whether his orders superseding local orders would take effect Friday, or at the time of his announcement Monday afternoon. We have not heard back.

Ted Price, franchise owner of Costa Vida Fresh MexicanGrill in Colleyville, has been operating with curbside service and recently openedtheir patio seating area. However, they do not plan to reopen at 25 percentstarting Friday.

At theend of the day, to allow 30 people in at a time with just a few tables spreadout and not allowing them to go through the counter service, I think it would bemore frustrating for them and make it harder for us to deliver the amount offood we are delivering now picking up curbside, Price explained.

On thefirst day they were allowed to offer patio service, Price admits it was difficultat times to get people to stay at a distance.

They didit. We just had to remind people a lot. We adjusted our line to help it make iteasier for them to spread out, he said. Were trying to get [floor markers] printedtoday to put on the ground. We had cones spread out by six feet. Were tryingto come up with better things but getting them created and ordered and printed,it takes time to figure these things out. Were doing our best.

Underthe executive orders announced by Abbott this week, businesses are not requiredto reopen Friday. Vinny Taneja, public health director for Tarrant County, saidbusinesses that choose to do so need to make smart decisions.

Tanejasaid this includes, but is not limited to, the usage of masks and abiding tocapacity limits.

Thosethings allow us to reopen with a very guarded, very cautious approach. We needto be very careful with monitoring the data. If data starts to uptick and trendup, we reevaluate. If it stays flat or keeps coming down, then okay makefurther progress, he said.

In hisweekly briefing before the Tarrant County Commissioners Court Tuesday, Tanejasaid the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is trending flat.

What thefederal plan was asking for us to be doing, is they should be consistentlygoing down over the last two weeks. Were flattening out, were not going down,Taneja said, referring to the federal guidance on reopening.

Thenumber of confirmed cases requiring hospitalization in Tarrant County has trendedup a little over the last couple of weeks, but its not an earthshatteringnumber, according to Taneja. As of Tuesday, he said 47 percent of hospitalbeds in Tarrant County are unoccupied due to social distancing measures inplace.

Of theoccupied beds, about six percent are COVID-19 patients.

When asked whether the data suggest Tarrant County is ready to reopen Friday with restrictions in place, Taneja answered, the data is not all aligning up with what the federal plan was. I mean, thats clear from the briefing but thats just one input. Youve got to balance out what the business community is wanting, what the public is wanting. I dont envy the position that Governor and our elected leaders are in. But that data is just part of the puzzle that theyre having to look at.

If data suggests no flare-up of cases over two weeks startingFriday, Abbott said the reopening of businesses could move into phase II which setscapacity at 50 percent.

Establishments like gyms and salons will hopefully be opened bymid-May, Abbott said.

Original post:
Colleyvilles Orders Allowing Patio Dine-In Will Continue Until State Orders on Businesses Start Friday, Mayor Says - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth