DAYTON — Talk of increasing positive COVID-19 cases among younger people in the southern half of Ohio, along with governors in Texas and Florida shutting down bars because of the surge in cases, has the owners of Dublin Pub concerned about the future of their business.
The pub has been trying to bounce back since reopening in mid-May as part of the state’s plan to restart Ohio responsibly. A patio has been added and patrons are being kept spread out in keeping with state social distancing guidelines.
“We could love to see ourselves open up a little more,” co-owner Steve Tieber told News Center 7′s Monica Castro on Friday night.
But what happened this week in Texas and Florida gives pubs and bars throughout the Dayton area the shivers.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shut down bars in the Lonestar State again Friday and scaled back restaurant dining, the most dramatic reversals yet as confirmed coronavirus cases surge, according to Associated Press reports.
Abbott also ordered rafting and tubing outfitters on Texas’ rivers to close and said outdoor gatherings of 100 or more must be approved by local governments. The actions reflect how Texas is now scrambling to contain an outbreak less than two months after an aggressive reopening that was one of the fastest in the nation. He did not say when bars might reopen again.
Texas has reported more than 17,000 confirmed new cases in the last three days with a record high positive tests of 5,996 on Thursday. The day’s tally of 4,739 hospitalizations was also a record, according to the AP. The state’s rolling infection rate hit nearly 12%, a level not seen since the state was in a broad lockdown in mid-April.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, is also telling residents to stay home and this week declared the state “on pause” as hospitals accelerate toward capacity.
Friday night in Dayton, Tieber told Castro, “If businesses were to be shut down again, I know it would be crippling.”
Patrons at the Dublin Pub expressed some concern, and one added a practical viewpoint.
“People have got to get out and these places have to stay alive,” David Haines said. " They got a lot of people to employ and take care of.”
© 2020 Cox Media Group
