SAN ANTONIO — Several businesses across San Antonio and Bexar County have returned to 75% operating capacity for the first time since late last year. Local officials gave the green light last Friday after the number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus dropped and remained below the 15% threshold of total hospitalizations for seven consecutive days.
Jacob Walker owns Fitness 1440. The increased capacity lifts a bit of weight off his shoulders. His gym can go back to offering larger group classes as it did before the pandemic.
"As a small business, every customer counts," Walker said. "It's nice to see that we're trending in the right direction."
It's also good news for The Good Kind, a restaurant in Southtown. Owner Tim McDiarmid is about to offer indoor seating for the first time in months.
She has kept it strictly outdoor since the pandemic began.
"More than anything, it's nice that people just feel more comfortable, energetically feel more comfortable going out," McDiarmid said.
Amusement parks can also return to 75% capacity. Jeff Filicko, marketing and communications manager for Six Flags Fiesta Texas, said the park is going to play it safe and stay at 50%.
"We're appreciative that the state is allowing the capacity to increase," Filicko said. "We all want to get to a point where capacity is not an issue, but we're going to continue operating, for the time being, in a way that lets us entertain as many guests as possible in the safest way possible."
Those safety precautions at Fiesta Texas include a temperature check tent. Masks are also required inside the park, as they are at Fitness 1440.
Walker said following Centers for Disease Control guidelines is what's keeping them on the right path.
"We're wearing our masks, we're practicing our social distancing," Walker said. "We're doing everything that's gotten us to this point."
Places like museums, libraries, zoos and aquariums can also return to 75% capacity. The same goes for indoor and outdoor sporting events.
The improving hospital numbers also mean elective surgeries no longer need to be postponed.