Amidst a highly publicized spike in reported coronavirus cases in Texas, the state still ranks near the bottom of the pack nationally when it comes to deaths. Per hundred thousand citizens, Texas has 13 deaths. By contrast, the now-lauded New York has 176. It’s no coincidence that the media suddenly shifted from reporting deaths to reporting cases.
Earlier in the month Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an order mandating masks in most counties, though many are not enforcing it. Counties with fewer than 20 active cases are exempt from the order, which has allowed 78 to opt-out from it.
Texas has already reimplimented some aspects of their previous lockdown, including the closure of bars, and scaling back capacity at restaurants from 75% to 50% for dine-in services. Outdoor gatherings of 100 were also re-banned (the limit had previously been lifted to 500).
While this requires the obvious disclaimer that every politician and their mother seems to have lied to us at some stage of the pandemic, Abbott claims that no full state lockdown is coming for Texas. As reported by HotAir:
“Let me tell you, there is no shutdown coming,” Abbott told KRIV-TV in Houston.
Abbott pointed to measures he’s taken in recent weeks, including a statewide mask mandate and an order shutting down bars, to slow the spread of the virus. It will take a few weeks to see a reversal in coronavirus case surges, he said.
He has repeatedly stressed this week that, if people wear masks, he’ll be able to avoid shutting down the state. On Wednesday, he told KPRC-TV in Houston that it seems like people ask him about a shutdown “like a thousand times a day.”
“People are panicking, thinking I’m about to shut down Texas again,” he said. “The answer is no. That is not the goal. I’ve been abundantly clear.”
“We are certainly not out of the woods yet, but this could be a glimmer of hope,” Abbott said of the recent hospitalization numbers. “But the only way we can avoid a shutdown is if we do get everybody buying into this process of wearing a face mask.”
These comments come a week after Abbott said that another shutdown would if people flouted his mask mandate, calling masks his “last best effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.”
