On March 2nd, Governor Gregg Abbott announced the state of Texas to reopen all business at 100% capacity starting Wednesday, March 10th. He further announced that the statewide mask mandate was to be lifted. Abbott advises Texans to continue taking precautionary measures when in public, such as social distancing, as COVID-19 still exists. County judges are allowed to use COVID imitigation strategies should local hospitals stay at 15% capacity for seven days straight.
Abbott’s statewide mask mandate has been in effect since July of 2020 when 20 or more positive COVID cases were reported in counties across Texas. Since then we have seen the toll the coronavirus has taken on Texans with 45,563 deaths. Despite surges that threatened communities, Abbott reopened Texas businesses at phases starting with 25% of capacity in May to 50% of capacity in October of 2020.
Abbott said during his Tuesday announcement “Texas now has the tools to protect Texas from the Virus.” He added “We must now do more to restore the livelihoods and normalcy for Texans.” The governor’s decision was made after the state entered phase 1b of the vaccination distribution, where anyone over the age of 18 with medical conditions are now eligible to receive the vaccine. Abbott believes now is the right time to reopen Texas as recovered cases and reduced hospital capacities have kept the state at a 9% positivity rate.
Vaccination rollouts started in December of 2020 based off the hub plan that helps decide when and who will get the vaccine. According to the CDC vaccine tracker, 4,673,868 have been administered to date in Texas. Even with an increase in hopeful herd immunity, the state continues to battle the 2.6 million confirmed cases across the state. Governor Abbott is confident that 7 million vaccines will be administered by next week.
The executive order (GA-34) received major backlash from medical experts, representatives, and the president. Former rep. Beto O’Rourke said Governor Abbott was “killing the people of Texas” and describes this as a “death warrant.” President Joe Biden criticizes Texas and Mississippi’s governors for lifting coronavirus restrictions saying it’s “neanderthal thinking.” Many critics believe that the premature decision is straying away from all the progress made toward coronavirus immunity. Houston Methodist President and CEO Dr. Marc Boom stated in an interview with NBC News that “we are 90 to 120 days away from a much better situation… Now everybody is contemplating a fourth surge of infections.”
Whether in favor or against the mask mandate, major businesses have already announced their own guidance for customers to follow. Stores such as Target, Trader Joes, and Kroger stated they will continue to follow coronavirus regulations. Alamo Drafthouse’s press release took a jab at the governors of Texas and Mississippi saying they will “only follow guidance of the CDC and medical experts, not politicians.”
The decision made by Governor Gregg Abbott imposes a huge controversy that has been both criticized and praised. Texan residents can expect an increase in vaccinations as the state receives more dosages in the coming weeks. But what we can expect is unpredictable for the future of Texas and the coronavirus.