Texas Gov. Greg Abbott closes schools, restricts restaurants and bars amid coronavirus
Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Thursday that temporarily closes all Texas schools, prohibits dining-in at bars and restaurants, and limits social gatherings to 10 people in an effort to combat the novel coronavirus’ spread.
In addition, the order also closes gyms and limits visits to nursing and retirement homes unless providing critical assistance. The order goes into effect at midnight Friday and will last through midnight April 3, Abbott said, with the possibility of it being extended depending on the virus’ spread in Texas and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations.
“When I declared a disaster last Friday, there were 39 cases of Texans who tested positive for COVID-19. Today, that number has grown by more than 300%. Today, we have more than 140 people in the state of Texas who have tested positive for COVID-19,” Abbott said Thursday during a press conference at the Texas Capitol with state leaders and officials.
Abbott stressed that the mandate is not a shelter-in-place order and that domestic travel will not be restricted. It follows the Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt’s declaration of a public health disaster Thursday. Abbott said he believes the last time a public health disaster was declared in Texas was in 1901.
The sweeping measures are some of the strongest statewide mandates Abbott has imposed yet. Ahead of Thursday’s announcement, Abbott had deferred to local officials to make such decisions for their areas, and Texas cities and counties, including Fort Worth, had previously restricted crowd sizes and limited restaurants to takeout and delivery orders only.
“What we’re dealing with in Texas is not a local disaster, or a regional disaster. It’s far more than a nationwide disaster,” Abbott said. “In fact, it is an international pandemic. The traditional model that we have employed in the state of Texas for such a long time so effectively does not apply to an invisible disease that knows no geographic and no jurisdictional boundaries.”
Abbott said the order was necessary to comply with increased measures from the federal government, such as the CDC’s heightened recommendations to cancel gatherings of 10 or more people.
“There is now sound evidence that community based spread of COVID-19 has begun in Texas,” Hellerstedt said. “COVID-19 is the greatest public health challenge in living memory.”
As of Thursday afternoon, 2,335 people have been tested in private and public health labs, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services’ count. And there have been at least five deaths related to COVID-19 reported this week in Texas.
“The more that people do to reduce their public contact, the sooner the COVID-19 disease will be contained and the sooner this executive order will expire,” Abbott said.
Texans can still travel to places like grocery stores, banks, parks and gas stations, and critical infrastructure, businesses, offices and workplaces will remain open — but should allow remote work when feasible, Abbott said.
“The use of drive-through, pick-up or delivery options is allowed and, in fact, highly encouraged throughout the limited duration of this executive order,” Abbott said. “Importantly, we want to emphasize that one thing important for all Texans to be able to access right now, obviously, is food.”
While many school districts across Texas have already announced temporary closures through early April, Abbott stressed that the mandated closures do not mean education stops, and urged online instruction or other options be provided.
In a statement following Abbott’s announcement, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath said he supports the governor’s decision to temporarily close schools statewide and said the agency has formed two task forces to ensure students can access resources to learn at home and to support students in special education.
Under the public health disaster declaration, state and local health officials have the authority to enforce quarantines or isolation in order to prevent further community spread.
“The state now has quarantine authority. We don’t want to exercise that authority right now, because we want to depend upon the responsibility that all Texans will show,” Abbott said. “If Texans are irresponsible in their behavior though, there are more tools where we can be more aggressive, only if needed.”
Abbott’s sweeping order follows the actions of more than two dozen governors across the country who have also shut down schools statewide, closed bars and restaurants, imposed curfews and more.
After declaring a state of disaster last week, Abbott has taken actions such as activating the Texas National Guard, eliminating STAAR test requirements for the school year amid school closures, waiving regulations to bolster deliveries to grocery stores, limiting visitation to nursing homes and more.
Abbott had hinted at a statewide restriction on bars and restaurants Wednesday at a press conference in Arlington, and he consulted county judges and mayors in a call Wednesday night to get input on his decision.
While some local officials, like Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley, lauded the autonomy from the state, others like Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins had urged the state to lay out uniform restrictions for the sake of public health.
Texas’ largest cities, like Dallas, Houston, Austin, Fort Worth and San Antonio, have already taken measures, like imposing crowd restrictions, shutting down dine-in options, closing non-essential businesses and more. But some rural counties in North Texas have been slow to declare local states of disaster or impose restrictions.
The Fort Worth City Council Thursday in an emergency meeting extended it’s local disaster declaration through May 15.
Abbott is set to answer Texans’ questions during a live town hall at 7 p.m. Thursday with state officials. It will be broadcast on Nexstar stations across the state, and viewers can ask questions by posting on social media with the hashtag #AskAbbott. Preference will be given to questions submitted as videos rather than texts, according to a news release.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 12:33 PM.
