Texas Gov. Greg Abbott rolled out plans to reopen the state’s economy on Monday, April 27. Under his amended executive order, Abbott issued social distancing measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 until Thursday, April 30. Abbott announced on Monday afternoon that he will allow the order to expire on its scheduled date with no plans to extend it.
He also rolled out two phases of strategically reopening the state’s economy. On May 1, Abbott says all retailers, restaurants, movie theaters and malls could be reopened at 25% capacity. If COVID-19 continues to be contained during a two-week period, then businesses would be allowed to operate at 50% capacity on May 18, with further increases allowed down the road.
Museums and libraries could also be opened at these capacities, but they would have to close hands-on exhibits to the public. Some sports could also resume playing, but only if it involves four or less people and they’re practicing social distancing guidelines. Bars, gyms, hair salons and amusement centers will remain closed until further notice.
“This order allows these businesses to reopen,” Abbott explains. “It does not require them to do so. If a business owner feels unsafe opening at this time… there’s no requirement to do so."
Abbott also unveiled the state’s next steps to expanding testing and tracing capabilities for COVID-19. After deploying a contact call center and over 1,150 contact tracers, Abbott says the state will expand to 4,000 tracers and expand applications to local health departments by May.
With Texas seeing over 25,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 11,000 recoveries, Abbott says the number of recoveries will soon exceed the total number of cases. He says it’s time to move in a new direction that will safely reopen Texas’ economy while not jeopardizing anyone’s safety.
“We’ve made tremendous progress in our fight against COVID-19. We know that we need to get the Texas economy back on track. We also know this can only be done if we contain the spread of COVID-19 and keep Texans safe,” Southwestern Medical Foundation chairman James Huffines says. “Texas cannot take one step forward and then take two steps backward.”
A full report of Abbott's plan to reopen Texas can be found on the governor's website at Gov.Texas.gov.