Florida suspends drinking alcohol in bars as new COVID-19 cases shatter previous records

Texas is not the only state bringing back tougher restrictions to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation on Friday announced that bars could no longer serve alcohol for on-premise consumption effective immediately.

The move to restrict alcohol consumption at bars comes on the same day that Florida revealed that it recorded nearly 9,000 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, which has shattered its previous record for daily recorded new cases.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has so far been reluctant to reimpose restrictions even as COVID-19 cases have exploded throughout the state, although the situation now appears to have reached a point where the state's government has little option to avoid overwhelming local hospitals.

Texas on Friday went a step further and ordered all bars to be shut down, while also ordering restaurants to restrict their services to 50 percent occupancy.