In the face of a skyrocketing coronavirus outbreak, Texas governor Greg Abbott has proclaimed that “there is no shutdown coming” to help stem the spread of the virus in his state, according to the Texas Tribune.
The state’s seven-day running average of new cases has increased 400% in the last month and more than 10,000 people hospitalized for COVID around Texas. Hospitals are reaching capacity in their ICUs, and morgues are hiring refrigerated trucks to store bodies.
“We are certainly not out of the woods yet, but this could be a glimmer of hope,” Abbott said. “But the only way we can avoid a shutdown is if we do get everybody buying into this process of wearing a face mask.”
An early opponent of face masks, Abbott has done an about-face by issuing a mask mandate and re-closing bars to prevent the spread of the infection.
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has said there are “more important things than living” in pushing to reopen the economy back in April. Apparently, that political position became untenable as Texans started to get stick and dying from the coronavirus.