After several months of tightening restrictions on Texas businesses meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus, in October 2020, Texas Governor Greg Abbott allowed many businesses to reopen at 75% capacity in Executive Order GA-32. However, in light of worsening COVID hospitalization rates in certain areas of the state, Governor Abbott limited reopening capacity for many businesses located in regions of the state with high COVID-19 hospitalization rates.
In multicounty regions known as Trauma Service Areas (TSAs), in which COVID hospitalizations accounted for more than 15% of total hospital capacity, most businesses were limited to 50% capacity upon reopening. Since October, many of the state’s TSAs reached the 15% threshold and were thus subject to the more restrictive 50% capacity threshold for many reopened businesses. See Jackson Walker’s summary of GA-32 for further information about businesses and other activities which are exempt from GA-32’s capacity limits.
In recent weeks, however, hospitalization numbers have improved in some areas of the state, allowing businesses some TSAs to bypass the 50% capacity limit in favor of the 75% capacity limit allowed by GA-32. The summary below compiles currently-available information about the GA-32 status of each of the state’s TSA regions. A complete list of counties in each TSA region is available here. Although care has been taken to verify this information, hospital capacity is reported on a daily basis and may change. Please contact a member of Jackson Walker’s Coronavirus Task Force for the most current information in your TSA.
|
TSA |
Region |
GA-32 Occupancy Limit for Qualifying Businesses |
| A | Amarillo | 75% |
| B | Lubbock | 75% |
| C | Wichita Falls | 75% |
| D | Abilene | 75% |
| E | Dallas/Fort Worth | 50% |
| F | Paris | 75% |
| G | Longview/Tyler | 75% |
| H | Lufkin | 50% |
| I | El Paso | 50% |
| J | Midland/Odessa | 75% |
| K | San Angelo | 75% |
| L | Belton/Killeen | 50% |
| M | Waco | 50% |
| N | Bryan/College Station | 75% |
| O | Austin | 75% |
| P | San Antonio | 50% |
| Q | Houston | 50% |
| R | Galveston | 50% |
| S | Victoria | 50% |
| T | Laredo | 50% |
| U | Corpus Christi | 75% |
| V | Lower Rio Grande Valley | 50% |
For additional information on how the evolving limitations might affect you, please contact a Jackson Walker attorney and follow along at JW.com/Coronavirus.
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Please note: This article and any resources presented on the JW Coronavirus Insights & Resources site are for informational purposes only, do not constitute legal or medical advice, and are not a substitute for legal advice from qualified counsel. The laws of other states and nations may be entirely different from what is described. Your use of these materials does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Jackson Walker. The facts and results of each case will vary, and no particular result can be guaranteed.