By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelils_92@hotmail.com

All righty. Here is what is about to happen in the county where I live with members of my family.

Collin County Judge Chris Hill has declared that bars will reopen to 50 percent of capacity early next week. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has left the decision up to county officials. It’s that pandemic thing that keeps getting in the way.

So help me I don’t know how I feel about this.

I do not intend to frequent any bars/lounges in the near future. I keep hearing from pandemic experts that bars and restaurants are among the most “dangerous” places to be, that they provide more opportunities to get infected by this potentially fatal viral infection.

We’ve been down this road before. I recall that bars did reopen for a time; then they shut down again. The pandemic continues to sicken too many Texans daily, let alone killing too many of us.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins isn’t reopening bars just yet. Tarrant County officials remain undecided on what to do. Collin County is moving ahead, although with due caution.

I want a return to “normal” as we used to define the term as much as the next guy. I do not want to see us rush toward that return if it means we’re going to sicken and possibly kill more Texans.

My message to Judge Chris Hill is simple: Be as quick to shut these places down if there’s any hint of a spike in illness. We’ve got a long way to go before declaring the pandemic to be over.

Never mind what the Dunce in Chief says in Washington, D.C.