Texas is moving forward with plans to reopen today, despite just logging the largest number of coronavirus fatalities since the state’s first death from COVID-19 was reported in March.
782 Coronavirus Deaths Reported in Texas
According to the Department of State Health Services, COVID-19 tragically killed 50 people in Texas on the eve of reopening, bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities to 782. Another 1,033 coronavirus cases were also reported on Thursday – the state’s largest single-day increase since April 10th.
Yet despite strong evidence of widespread coronavirus transmission in Texas, Governor Gregg Abbott is allowing hundreds of non-essential businesses — including retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls – to open their doors today. While businesses in the majority of counties will only be permitted to operate at 25% of capacity, those located in counties with five or fewer confirmed infections will be allowed to operate at 50%.
Other businesses, including gyms and hair and nail salons, will be able to open on May 18th, provided the state doesn’t see a resurgence of new infections.
Abbott’s order to reopen supersedes all local stay-at-home orders, even in the Houston Metro Region and other hard-hit communities.
Abbott Cited Low Texas Death Rate to Justify Reopening
Governor Abbott announced his reopening plan on Monday, less than a month after ordering all non-essential businesses to close in a bid to slow the spread of the potentially deadly virus. He cited several factors to justify his decision to lift the Texas-wide stay-at-home order, including a relatively low death rate compared to some other states.
“Understand that Texas has either the 3rd or 4th best — meaning lowest — death rate in the United States,” Abbott told KVUE in Austin. “Texas never has had a situation like New York, like California, like Washington, like Louisiana, like New Jersey, like Michigan, like Illinois with deaths. We’ve never had capacity strains on our hospitals like those states.”
But just over 90 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Texas over the past two days, bringing the state’s fatality rate to 2.8%. The death rate stood at 2.6% just a week ago and 2.3% two weeks ago. With coronavirus infections and deaths continuing to rise, some are casting doubt on Abbot’s decision.
“Was it really time?” U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, asked reporters yesterday. “Frankly, we just need to keep doing what we are doing. I’m not convinced it was time to open, certainly not here in the Houston region.”
Some Texas Businesses Delay Reopening
Others have suggested that the continuing outbreak – as well as the economic hardship brought on by the state’s weeks-long shutdown and falling oil prices – will keep many Texans close to home, regardless of what’s open.
“There’s no indication from any critical source that this will be like flipping on a lightbulb,” Scott Benedict, director of the Center for Retailing Studies at Texas A&M’s Mays Business School, told the Texas Tribune. “I don’t think consumers will have that supreme sense that their personal health will be protected.”
Abbott’s order doesn’t require any business to reopen, and some have already opted to remain closed for the time being. On Monday, for example, Texas-based Cinemark Theater said it wouldn’t be ready to resume business until mid-July. Other theater chains, including AMC Theaters, Studio Movie Grill, Cinépolis USA, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, and Flix Brewhouse, are also holding off.
Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a member of President Trump’s advisory team for reviving the nation’s economy, suggested public health and financial concerns could cause other establishments to delay reopening.
“I don’t care if you’re the smallest business,” he recently told KHOU-11. “If you can only do 25% of your occupancy, it’s going to be more expensive and in 90% of the cases you’re going to end up losing more money than you would by staying closed.”
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