Governor Abbott warns of new coronavirus restrictions if over the next month, there is another doubling in the statewide number of positive cases, the percentage of people testing positive, and the increase of hospitalizations.
That came at the end of a pandemic update Abbott and other state leaders gave Monday afternoon.
The governor believes it is still safe for Texans to participate in early voting for the primary runoff, which starts next week.
Abbott also acknowledged actions taken by local officials to restrict or ban July 4th activities.
Click below for comments from Governor Abbott and other state officials on June 22, 2020:
Listen to “Governor Abbott pandemic update, June 22 2020” on Spreaker.
News release from Governor Abbott’s office:
Governor Greg Abbott today provided an update on Texas’ continued response to COVID-19. The Governor discussed several steps the state is taking to mitigate the spread of the virus in recent weeks—including increasing enforcement of health and safety regulations, rapidly increasing testing in hot spots, and working with hospitals throughout the state to ensure they have the ability to treat Texans who test positive for COVID-19.
The Governor urged Texans and Texas businesses to follow the Minimum Standard Health Protocols established by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as Texas continues to safely and strategically open the economy.
“COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in the state of Texas, and it must be corralled,” said Governor Abbott. “We have several strategies to reduce the spread without shutting Texas back down, but it is up to all of us to do our part to protect ourselves and others. We need all Texans to follow the safety protocols developed by our team of medical experts, including staying home if you are sick or at risk, sanitizing your hands, social distancing, and wearing face coverings or masks. COVID-19 hasn’t gone away, but neither has our ability to slow the spread of it. Texans have shown that we don’t have to choose between jobs and health—we can have both. We can protect lives while also restoring livelihoods. Together, we will keep Texans safe and we will keep our state open for business.”
Texans should visit open.texas.gov to learn more about the Minimum Standard Health Protocols and how they can help the Lone Star State slow the spread of COVID-19.
Recap from the governor’s office and John Moritz, USA Today Network:
Gov. Greg Abbott arrived at the news conference wearing a red, white and blue mask.
He was joined by Dr. John Hellerstedt, his medical point person for the pandemic and head of the Texas Department of State Health Services, physician and former state Rep. John Zerwas, who is executive vice chancellor for health affairs of the University of Texas System and an Abbott adviser, and Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
Behind them were large charts showing trend lines for hospitalization, daily new cases and the positivity rate. All showed a flattening until about Memorial Day. Then came spikes on all three charts.
“To state the obvious, COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas,” Abbott said, adding later “If those spikes continue, additional measures are going to be necessary.”
But he said he has no immediate plans for a second shutdown of businesses, saying “Closing down Texas again will always be the last option.”
Abbott aggressively endorsed the use of mask by people in public settings. He mentioned an unnamed person in the hospitality industry who was did not want to wear a mask and said he told the person that doing so could make the difference between keeping his business operating or perhaps closing down. The governor said the man came away convinced.
“When you go out, you should wear a face covering or mask,” Abbott said, adding later, “I also know that wearing a mask will help us keep Texas open,” he said.
He said the more aggressive tone on masks now is because of the spike. No need to push it, he said, when the trend lines were flattening.
Hellerstedt said the spike in cases puts Texas “at a very crucial point in time.” He called on Texans “to recover what I feel is a sense of community,” when people seemed more agreeable to making sacrifices to limit the virus spread.
Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said the state is in good shape when it comes to personal protective equipment, or PPE for short.
“We pushed out over 62 million masks to health care workers and first responders across the state. We have about 24 million in our warehouse inventory with another 96 million in route,” he said. “So for PPE shortages or concerns that are out there we need to make sure we are sharing those facts. There’s plenty of PPE in our inventory at this time. That’s one of the few times you’ve heard me say that.”
Some testing sites in the Houston area were forced to close because of severe weather, Kidd said. But 840 site remain open statewide. An average of 32,000 COVID-19 tests are conducted each day in Texas.
Abbott, meanwhile, alluded to the recent mandates by some local and county officials that businesses require customers to wear mask. But he remained steady in his position that a statewide mask-wearing order is not needed in Texas, where case levels vary from one region to another.
“What may be true in Austin, Texas, is different in Austin County,” he said. “And we need to have latitude for that differentiation.”
Abbott said he spoke last week with several hospital officials from around the state, including the urban centers were caseloads are the highest.
“I was assured and reassured consistently by all the CEOs in all regions in the entire state of Texas they have the capability, the flexibility to ensure that anybody who tests positive for COVID-19 would have a bed available,” he said.
Looking ahead to the Fourth of July holiday, Abbott said local officials have the authority to limit gatherings if they see the need. Several local officials are doing just that, he added.
“The good news is, we are already seeing responses from local officials,” Abbott said.
Abbott also addressed recorded comments from staff members from the conservative advocacy group Empower Texans where they had mocked in sometimes vulgar language Abbott’s disability that requires him to use a wheelchair while deriding his response to the pandemic.
“It reveals a lot about an organization whose morals and character that they would use vulgarity to talk about someone in a wheelchair,” Abbott said. “I think the public should judge that organization and the positions it takes through the lens of the people who act that way.”