Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the efforts to reopen his state will be put on pause as coronavirus cases there soar to record levels.
Abbott, a Republican, made the announcement on Thursday. Texas has had more than 131,000 confirmed cases of the respiratory illness and at least 2,292 deaths, according to a recent tally by the New York Times.
“As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families,” Abbott said. “The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business.”
There are concerns that the new wave of infections will overwhelm hospitals across the state. The Texas Medical Center, located in hard-hit Houston, is now operating at 97% capacity, and the city’s Lyndon Baines Johnson Hospital is over capacity in its intensive care unit.
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The Thursday announcement comes after Abbott, who has been urging Texans to wear masks, announced a freeze on elective surgeries to make room at hospitals for COVID-19 patients.
“These four counties have experienced significant increases in people being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and today’s action is a precautionary step to help ensure that the hospitals in these counties continue to have ample supply of available beds to treat COVID-19 patients,” Abbott said.
Other states across the country have also seen spikes in coronavirus infections. Florida, which has had almost 110,000 infections and at least 3,280 deaths, hit a single-day record number of new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday. That same day, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, urged residents to wear face coverings.
“And then, everyone should just wear a damn mask, like you guys are, like I am right now,” Rubio told reporters.
New research released this week predicted that COVID-19 deaths in the United States will surge to 180,000 by October unless a vast majority of the population begins to wear masks.
