Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued an executive order today requiring all Texans to wear a face covering in public in counties with 20 or more positive coronavirus cases.
It’s a dramatic reversal by the Republican governor that underscores the severity of the outbreak in Texas, which set a single-day record on Wednesday with more than 8,000 confirmed new cases.
On June 3, Abbott issued an executive order banning local governments from imposing fines on people who don’t wear masks in public.
Abbott also issued a proclamation today allowing mayors and county judges to restrict outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people.
Texas has reported more than 175,000 total confirmed cases and 2,500 deaths, but is one of a number of states across the Sunbelt that has seen a huge surge in infections in recent weeks.
Texas was one of the first states to reopen after its initial coronavirus lockdown, with Abbott allowing the state’s stay-at-home order to expire on April 30.
As cases began to climb, Abbott urged Texans last week to stay home to fight the “rampant” spread of the coronavirus, warning that it was spreading at an “unacceptable rate.”
He then took the dramatic step of pausing Texas’ reopening plan as the virus threatened to overwhelm hospitals.
Abbott admitted in a radio interview last week: “If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars.”
Abbott’s reversal comes as top Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have urged Americans to wear masks to protect themselves and others, dismissing the partisan divide that has defined the issue since the early days of the pandemic.
Florida reported 10,109 new cases today, the state’s highest single-day increase yet.
California shut bars and indoor dining for most residents, Michigan closed indoor service at bars in southern and central parts of the state and New York City paused restaurant reopening.
Arizona is seeing a massive surge in new cases and hospitalizations with a record of more than 4,800 new coronavirus cases and 88 deaths on Wednesday.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced that people in the state will be required to wear face masks while in public, is effective Friday.
The number of coronavirus cases increased in nearly every state over the last week.
Anthony Fauci testified earlier this week that he would “not be surprised” if the U.S. begins reporting as many as 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day.
Adm. Brett Giroir, the Health and Human Services official overseeing the nation’s coronavirus testing efforts, expressed concern that the July 4 holiday weekend could worsen already troubled cities and cause new outbreaks for others.
Giroir told Congress today that the U.S. is “not flattening the curve right now,” and that the nationwide surge in new cases is not simply a result of more testing.
President Trump said in an interview on Wednesday that he’s “all for masks,” but maintained that he doesn’t think it should be mandatory.
Scientific evidence shows face masks can help to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, but the nuances and changes in messaging about their use are complicating public health efforts.
Today, the leaders of the nation’s top business organizations wrote an open letter urging the White House to work with governors to develop mandatory mask guidelines, after a Goldman Sachs study showed universal mask-wearing could “potentially substitute for lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5% from GDP.”
Over 128,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S., per Johns Hopkins.
Nearly 2.7 million Americans have tested positive from almost 33 million tests.