Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state’s healthcare facilities to cancel elective medical procedures and said he was deploying the National Guard to help organize testing sites for the coronavirus and assist hospitals in creating more bed space.
Abbott also suspended regulations that prevented hospitals from treating two patients in one room.
Hospitals could be fined and providers could be jailed if they don’t comply with the executive order postponing elective procedures.
Abbott declined to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order as other states have, noting that there are counties in the state without any confirmed coronavirus cases. But he said he would support any local officials who take more restrictive action than he has statewide.
Previously, he had ordered all Texans to limit public gatherings to 10 people or less and prohibited dining out at restaurants and bars. Texas schools are also closed through at least April 3.
“I will always remain flexible and on a moments notice be ready to take whatever strategies on a statewide level to make sure we are doing all that we can” to fight the spread of the coronavirus, he said.
