On Thursday, June 25, 2020, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the Lone Star State was effectively putting its COVID-19 pandemic reopening plans on “pause.” Texas froze elective surgeries in the largest counties, while it presently deals with an uptick in coronavirus cases and subsequent hospitalizations. As a result of the increase, Texas is being called a virus hotspot in the U.S.
In an effort to protect hospital space, the suspension of elective surgeries was scheduled for San Antonio and Austin in the Texas Hill Country, Dallas in North Texas, and Houston in the southeast. Across the state, the number of those being treated for COVID-19 has more than doubled over the course of the last two weeks. Not only that, but the state has reported over 11K new pandemic cases just in the last two days alone.
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Although there is a pause in effect on added reopening, this does not dial back prior orders that allowed the majority of the Texas economy to reopen. However, the planned increase of any occupancy levels in locations such as restaurants, amusement parks, and bars has appeared to have been slowed as a result. In addition, the governor has officially told the public that they should be making every effort to stay home. For the 13th day in a row, a new record was set for Texas hospitalizations due to COVID-19, which rose to almost 4,400 new cases.
Similarly, the governor has pleaded with Texans to continue their efforts to wear masks when they’re in public settings. Although a new statewide mask order has yet to be issued, some Texas counties and cities have imposed their own new orders on business entities, requiring that their workers and customers wear a face covering.
What do you think of the reopening pause and the mask orders? Do you support them or not? Let us know what you think!
