Below is Governor Gregg Abbott’s Open Texas Report which offers guidelines for businesses to reopen starting May 1, 2020.
In summary, most retail, malls, and restaurants can open with certain restrictions – the biggest of which is they must limit their occupancy to 25% of normal occupancy.
By way of Executive Order (GA-18), all retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and malls are permitted to reopen on Friday, May 1. These services must limit their capacity to 25% of their listed occupancy. Within shopping malls, the food-court dining areas, play areas, and interactive displays and settings must remain closed.
All museums and libraries may open under the same 25% occupancy limitation, but interactive areas of museums must remain closed. State libraries and museums will open by May 1, and local public museums and libraries may reopen only if permitted by the local government. Single-person offices may reopen as well.
Churches and places of worship remain open. Outdoor sports are allowed to resume so long as no more than four participants are playing together at one time. Certain social distancing practices must also be followed. Local government operations, including county and municipal government operations relating to permitting, recordation, and document-filing services, may reopen as determined by the local government.
Abbott Press Release 04-27-2020
For example, if a store is 2,000 square feet, according to National Fire Safety Code, you can have one person per 60 square feet, or 33 people in the store at one time. Governor Abbott’s 25% limit reduces the number of people in a store to 8. This includes staff.
Barbershops, Salons, Gyms, and Bars are not allowed to open at this time, but Abbott said he would be issuing further guidance and hopes to allow them to open on May 18. The rule of thumb for restaurants, per the Open Texas document (below) indicates that if a restaurant/bar is required to post the RED 51% sign (meaning they generate 51% or more of their revenue from on site alcohol consumption sales) they cannot open for dine-in at this time.
In all cases, it is strongly recommended, but not required, for individuals to continue to use masks when out in public. Each business has a set of requirements for themselves as well as their customers to comply with in order to remain open.
Lastly, Governor Abbott issued GA-20, which:
Additionally, the Governor issued an Executive Order (GA-20) to eliminate the mandatory 14-day quarantine period for individuals traveling from Louisiana. Under GA-20, the mandated 14-day quarantine for travelers from the following areas remains in place: California; Connecticut; New York; New Jersey; Washington; Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan, and Miami, Florida.