After a busy Memorial Day weekend in which city officials said bars and restaurants were overcrowded with people celebrating, Mayor Sylvester Turner on Monday said he would push to enforce state laws limiting the occupancy of businesses across cities like Houston — two days after saying the city would not do so.
Turner said he was troubled by reports of crowds in clubs and bars that appeared to exceed the 25% capacity listed in Gov. Greg Abbott’s most recent order allowing for the opening of such businesses.
Turner, who argued such actions would set back the city’s pandemic response, directed the city’s fire marshal to enforce those regulations with citations.
The decision is a reversal from his previous comments on Friday, in which he said the city would not be enforcing capacity restrictions on bars and restaurants without additional backup from the state.
On Monday, the mayor said that as reports came in of clubs and bars ignoring the rules over the holiday weekend, the city had no choice but to start cracking down with possible citations.
