During a press conference, Governor Abbott said the state will be making moves towards reopening.
He said that we are beginning to see the end of the worst of the COVID-19. He said that Texas has the second most recoveries in all states in the U.S.
The state has created a strike force to work in opening the state. They will be advised by doctors and health officials.
They will also be advised by business owners and economic leaders. He mentioned Kendra Scott, Mattress Mack, Ross Perot Jr., among others.
The strike force will consist of Dan Patrick, Ken Paxton, Glenn Hegar and Dennis Bonnen.
The first executive order create the strike force. The second executive order focuses on health workers.
In this executive order, on April 22, restrictions on surgeries will be loosened.
The details of which procedures are now allowed are as follows:
- Any procedure that, if performed in accordance with the commonly accepted standard of clinical practice, would not deplete the hospital capacity or the PPE needed to cope with COVID-19, or
- Any surgery or procedure performed in a licensed health care facility that has certified in writing to Texas HHSC both (1) that it will reserve at least 25% of its hospital capacity for treatment of COVID-19 patients, accounting for the range of clinical severity of COVID-19 patients, and (2) that it will not request any PPE from any public source—whether federal, state, or local—for the duration of the COVID-19 disaster.
However, they are enhancing restrictions on nursing homes. This includes infection control policies and minimizing staff movement between elder care facilities.
Next, he believes all stores should be able to do "retail-to-go" starting next Friday. Retail-to-go includes curbside and ordering online.
This does not mean people can go into retail stores, but get goods through curbside or delivery.
He also said that those businesses reopening should make sure that employee are. For more information on how to re-open your business, check out this pdf:
Also starting Monday, state parks will reopen. If visiting parks, you must wear a mask and stay a safe 6 feet away.
He also said to limit groups to 5.
In addition, he said on April 27, additional ways of reopening Texas will be announced. There will be even more announcements coming in May.
He also said schools will be closed for in-person classroom attendance for the remainder of the 2019-2020 year.
He said in reopening Texas, he will put safety first and use information from doctors in his decisions.