Texas will end its coronavirus restrictions next week with an upcoming executive order, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced Tuesday during a press conference in Lubbock.
Why it matters: After Abbott signs the new order, revoking previous orders, all businesses could open up to 100% capacity and the mandate for the entire mask would be over, although large parts of the state remain under local ordinances.
What they say: “Now is the time to open Texas 100%,” Abbott said Tuesday. “For almost half a year, most businesses were 75% or 50% open, and during that time, too many Texans were cut off from jobs.”
- “Too many small business owners have struggled to pay their bills. It has to end,” he added.
- The governor said the restrictions are no longer necessary now that the state is more willing to test and treat the virus and vaccinate more residents.
By the numbers: According to the state’s coronavirus dashboard, Texas reported more than 1,600 new cases and no new deaths due to the virus on Monday.
- Abbott said Texas gave 216,000 vaccine shots on Tuesday – a record for the state – and that 5.7 million shots had already been fired in the state.
The whole picture: The Mississippi government, Tate Reeves (R), also announced on Tuesday that the state would lift mask mandates for all counties on Wednesday, saying it “hospitalizations have dropped and our case numbers have dropped dramatically as well,” according to an ABC subsidiary.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has warned states against lifting public health restrictions as coronavirus cases and deaths “appear to be” following a recent decline.
- “With these new statistics, I’m really concerned about reports that more states are reproducing the exact public health measures we recommended to protect people against COVID-19,” Walensky said.