Texas Puts Reopening On ‘Pause’ As COVID-19 Conditions Soar

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday halted elective surgeries in Texas’ most important counties and reported the state would “pause” its intense re-opening as it promotions with a surge in coronavirus scenarios and hospitalizations that has produced it just one of the nation’s virus hotspots.

The suspension of elective surgical procedures is made to defend healthcare facility space in the Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio regions. Statewide, the variety of COVID-19 individuals has additional than doubled in two months. Texas has described a lot more than 11,000 new circumstances in the preceding two days on your own.

The pause on additional re-openings does not roll back again past orders that by now permitted a great deal of the financial system to reopen. But it would surface to sluggish down any prepared enlargement of occupancy amounts at destinations like bars, restaurants and amusement parks and other venues.

“We are centered on tactics that sluggish the unfold of this virus when also permitting Texans to continue on earning a paycheck to guidance their people,” Abbott said in a statement. “The past detail we want to do as a condition is go backwards and near down enterprises. This temporary pause will aid our condition corral the unfold till we can securely enter the up coming section of opening our point out for company.”

By reimposing a ban on elective surgeries, the Republican is returning to just one of his to start with actions when the virus to start with emerged in Texas in March. He afterwards rescinded the order all through an aggressive reopening of the condition in May well that lifted lockdown orders forward of most of the U.S.

Abbott this 7 days has taken a freshly urgent tone about the worsening tendencies and is now telling the general public they ought to remain house. On Thursday, the selection of hospitalizations climbed to virtually 4,400 people, placing a new record for a 13th consecutive working day.

Abbott has also urged Texans to put on masks in public. The governor has not issued a statewide mask buy, but the state’s cities and counties has imposed new orders on enterprises to involve prospects and staff to wear confront coverings.