Texas Governor Begins To Reopen State; Democrats Condemn His "Hoax" Plan

[Ubiquitous]

With President Trump ramping up his campaign to reopen states and
protests mounting in states where governors have been deemed to have
gone too far with executive orders, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) took the
most aggressive steps of any governor yet to begin the process of
rolling back restrictions to reopen the state’s shutdown-battered
economy.

On Friday, Abbott announced the state’s shifting policies on its
coronavirus social distancing measures. While the governor stressed
that residents should continue to practice federally recommended social
distancing measures, he provided some dates for the reopening of some
public facilities and stores and a loosening of health care
restrictions.

“We have shown that Texas can continue our efforts to contain COVID-19
while also adopting safe standards that will allow us to begin the
process of reopening Texas,” Abbott said Friday, as reported by Fox
News. While his administration feels confident in beginning to ease
some of the restrictions, the governor also emphasized that in re-
opening the state, they must be “guided by data and by doctors.”

Texas, which has a population of around 30 million, has seen 414
residents die in connection to COVID-19 thus far, Dallas Morning News
reports. That number, Abbott said, is “far too high,” but trends
suggest that the state “will not come close to the early dire
predictions.”

The Republican governor said that while traditional and charters
schools should remain closed for students for the rest of the academic
year, next week the state will begin to reopen state parks, allow
health care providers to perform some elective procedures that have
been restricted under the current stay-at-home order, and allow retail
stores to provide “to go” service.

Though schools are to remain closed to students, teachers are allowed
to return to campus “under controlled conditions to conduct remote
instruction and perform administrative duties,” Dallas Morning News
notes. The paper provides the following summary of Abbott’s key orders
(order adjusted):

• On Monday, state parks will again open their gates, though visitors
will have to wear masks or face coverings and keep at least six feet
away from other visitors who aren’t members of their families.

• Starting Wednesday, in a bow to doctors and hospitals, restrictions
on elective procedures and surgeries will be loosened. He cited
biopsies for cancer as one example.

• Starting April 24, retailers who previously were considered
nonessential may begin providing pickup service or home delivery
for customers[.]

To help guide the reopening process, Abbott announced the creation of
the “Strike Force to Open Texas,” which consists of “a team of
nationally recognized medical experts as well as private and public
leaders who will advise the governor on safely and strategically
reopening the state,” Fox News explains.

“The Strike Force to Open Texas brings together nationally recognized
medical experts with public and private sector leaders to achieve this
mission,” said the governor. “By coming together, we can get Texans
back to work, practice safe standards that will prevent the spread of
COVID-19, and we can overcome this pandemic.”

In response, some Texas Democrats have voiced concerns and one even
went so far as to call the governor’s plan a “hoax.”

During a press call on Friday, U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro (D-San Antonio)
said Abbott’s plan is “not a plan at all — it’s a hoax.” He also
complained that the lead member of the governor’s strike force is a top
lobbyist. Other prominent Democrats, Dallas Morning News reports,
chided Abbott, saying he should “follow doctors’ orders” on taking the
reopening slowly.

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Every American should want President Trump and his administration to
handle the coronavirus epidemic effectively and successfully. Those who
seem eager to see the president fail and to call every administration
misstep a fiasco risk letting their partisanship blind them to the
demands not only of civic responsibility but of basic decency.