After months of being closed to stop the spread of COVID-19, bars across Florida will be allowed to serve alcohol for on-site consumption once again come Monday.
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Halsey Beshears made the announcement Thursday evening on Twitter, hours after he appeared alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis for a roundtable discussion about the restaurant industry.
Come Monday, bars will be able to operate at 50% capacity.
They were ordered to close in late June after multiple outbreaks were linked back to more crowded establishments, including
one near the University of Central Florida.
Beshears said Thursday that in the future, he’d like his department to take a more targeted approach to enforcing COVID-19 guidelines.
“I just, I can’t stress that enough, moving forward we’re gonna look at the bad actors, that’s it, so not everyone gets punished,” Beshears said.
Check back for more updates on this developing story.