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Texas AG sued the city of Austin on Wednesday after local authorities imposed new Covid-19 restrictions on food services for the New Years weekend.
Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, filed a motion for a temporary injunction and a temporary restraining order in Travis County District Court against the directive, which limited restaurants to drive-thru, pickup services in curbside, take-out and delivery between 10:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. Thursday to Sunday.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown, both Democrats, introduced the new four-day restriction to limit social gatherings over the holiday weekend after the state reported a record the number of hospitalizations and new cases.
In a Wednesday letter, Paxton said the new directive violated a previous order from Governor Greg Abbott and directed the two officials to rescind or vary the order.
“Mayor Adler and Justice Brown do not have the power to override Gov. Abbott’s executive orders by shutting down businesses in Travis County and our state capital,” Paxton said in a statement. “The fact that these two local leaders posted their orders on the night and on the eve of a major vacation shows how much they despise Texans and local businesses.”
The Paxton lawsuit names Adler, Brown, the city of Austin and the County of Travis as defendants.
Adler said Wednesday he had consulted with city doctors, educators and lawyers, calling the city of Austin in “critical” condition.
“We are now facing our most dangerous prospect of a push,” he told a press conference.
Brown called the order “the most closely matched thing we could think of” to curb the spread of the coronavirus over New Years weekend.
Dr Mark Escott, City of Austin and Travis County Medical Director, urged residents to “stay home as much as possible and not get together with people outside of their home.”
“We are now experiencing widespread and uncontrolled community transmission of COVID-19, particularly in circumstances where masking and distancing is not possible, making bars and similar establishments of great concern over this holiday weekend. “Escott said in a statement.
Texas on Tuesday recorded a record of nearly 12,000 hospitalizations and 27,000 new cases of Covid-19, according to the state health department’s Covid-19 dashboard.
Travis County recorded a total of 49,648 confirmed cases and 534 deaths on Thursday, data showed.
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