Medical workers treat a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient at the United Memorial Medical Center’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) intensive care unit in Houston, Texas, U.S., June 29, 2020.
Callaghan O’Hare | Reuters
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Thursday requiring residents across the state to wear a face-covering in public spaces in counties with 20 or more positive Covid-19 cases.
“Wearing a face covering in public is proven to be one of the most effective ways we have to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Abbott said in a press release.
“We have the ability to keep businesses open and move our economy forward so that Texans can continue to earn a paycheck, but it requires each of us to do our part to protect one another — and that means wearing a face-covering in public spaces,” he added.
Abbott also issued a proclamation giving mayors and county judges the ability to impose restrictions on some outdoor gatherings of over 10 people.
The decision was made because the percent of total tests coming back positive and the hospitalization rate both increased too much, Abbott said. In the second half of May, Texas reported an average of about 1,500 new coronavirus cases every day, Abbott said. In the past week, “that number quadrupled,” he said.
“Both of those danger zones have now been triggered,” he added.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization recommend that people wear masks as a way to slow the spread of the virus. Scientists say the virus can spread through respiratory droplets that pass when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Studies suggest the masks serve as a helpful barrier.
On Wednesday, Texas reported a record-high spike of 8,076 new cases in a 24-hour period, according to the state health department. The virus has now infected more than 168,000 people in Texas and killed at least 2,481 people.
By comparison, New York state had around 10,000 new daily cases at the height of its pandemic earlier this year.
Across Texas, there are 12,894 hospital beds and 1,322 ICU beds still available, but hospitals in some particularly hard-hit areas like Houston have said they are approaching surge capacity.
As more Texans have become infected with the virus, fallen ill and become hospitalized, Abbott last week ordered the suspension of elective procedures to make more room for Covid-19 patients in hospitals throughout the hardest hit counties: Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties. On Tuesday, he expanded the order to include Cameron, Hidalgo, Nueces and Webb counties.
“Importantly, these spikes are not limited to just the big cities,” Abbott said. “More than 91 counties have hit record-high numbers in just the past three days.”
“Covid-19 is not going away,” he added. “In fact, it’s getting worse.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
