On Friday (5-24-2020) Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he would not extend any resources to enforce citations if a bar or restaurant is not following the 25 percent capacity rule. But that has changed.
Beginning today, the Houston Fire Marshal will enforce the state's 25 percent capacity rules. The mayor says "Based on some of the pictures that I have seen that it is clear that people are crowded in, almost to maximum capacity, on top of one another, no social distancing, no masks - then you are forcing us to step in for public health reasons to say NO"
Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Peña says, " will go out there and ensure that we are having conversations with the business owners to try to provide a safe environment for those establishments, but that is our only focus - education and information,"
The decision to enforce the rules comes as the city reported 115 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death.
photo: Getty