No More Lockdowns for Texas

Back in June, Texas broke a new record with over 5,000 individuals hospitalized due to the Coronavirus. The number of tests which came back positive rose above Governor Greg Abbott’s “warning flag,” level of 10% for a week straight. The Republican governor responded with immediate action to shut down bars and limit restaurant capacity across the entire state, as well as announce a mask mandate.

This week, over 7,400 Texans have been hospitalized for the Coronavirus. In other words, the positivity rate has exceeded well over 10% for the past three weeks. The mask order remains in place but Abbott’s strategy as we near the holidays is not expected to change, essentially relying on blueprint plans for the state and gradual re-openings based on hospitalizations regionally.

As tensions rise with local officials who are requesting more authority to implement safety restrictions, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told reporters on Tuesday, “we need the state to step in and lead or get out of the way and let us lead.”

Last week, Abbott ruled out “any more lockdowns,” and Rajesh Nandy, associate professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of North Texas Health Science Center added, “it seems at this point, there’s not a lot of will, even among people, for a full-scale stay-at-home [order] like [Abbott] did in March, because, of course, it has other consequences.”

In these most recent days, Texas has a record 10,826 new cases as of Tuesday which surpasses the most previous high the state has had back in mid-July, with 10,791 cases.

Abbott told Dallas radio host, Mark Davis, last Thursday, that “we are not going to have any more lockdowns in the state of Texas. Our focal point is gonna be working to heal those who have COVID, get them out of hospitals quickly, and make sure they get back to their normal lives.”