Abbott pauses further reopenings in Texas to respond to record COVID cases
For the first time since the start of the novel coronavirus’ outbreak, Gov. Greg Abbott paused further reopenings of Texas businesses Thursday to respond to all-time highs in new cases and hospitalizations.
The announcement is a change of course for Abbott, who has previously pushed forward with reopenings, and is a signal of the worsening spread of the virus in Texas.
“As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families,” Abbott said in a statement. “The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business.”
The pause comes three weeks after Abbott had announced the most recent phase of reopenings. Earlier this month, Abbott allowed nearly all businesses to increase their capacity to 50%, and restaurants were allowed to increase their capacity to 75% June 12.
Businesses permitted to reopen can continue to operate at the designated capacity levels.
This week, Abbott struck a newly urgent tone and issued new restrictions amid record hospitalizations and new cases of the virus.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 11:02 AM.
