Covid in the United States: reopening of restaurants and gyms in Texas
Audio 01:19
In Texas, restaurants and bars will be able to reopen at 75%.
Here, a street in Austin, Texas, June 26, 2020. Sergio Flores / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
In the United States, the number of hospitalizations due to the coronavirus is declining even though nearly 200,000 people have lost their lives there due to the pandemic.
States are gradually reopening their economies.
In Texas, the rate of positive test results has fallen below 7%.
The Republican government of Texas has therefore decided on a new phase of reopening.
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From our correspondent in Houston,
Thomas Harms
Since the start of the week, department stores, gyms or restaurants can let in three quarters of their customers.
But given the health measures already in place, going from 50% to 75% will not really be seen.
As Mary Stonecipher, who runs a fitness club in Houston, says:
“The only thing that has changed today is that we don't have to reserve our place in the gym anymore and we don't take temperatures anymore. , we no longer require reservations there, but the number of people for group fitness has remained the same.
"
There is no difference in restaurants either, but the clientele does not follow suit, so this sector is chomping at the bit.
Since April, this industry has already lost 700,000 jobs.
And half of Texas' 3,500 restaurateurs believe they won't survive the next six months.
Michael Klein is the president of the association of bars and nightclubs and he makes the same observation for his sector.
“
Since March, nearly 100% of our businesses have closed.
This management of the crisis by this anti-business governor has been disastrous from the start.
We believe that one in two bars or nightclubs will not survive.
"
To save a sinking economy, several leaders of the Texas Republican Party are calling for a 100% reopening.
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Read also: Covid-19 in the United States: the suffering of the uninsured in Texas
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