Gov. Greg Abbott said despite the increased numbers of coronavirus cases in Texas, he will not order any new lockdown in his state.
“We are not going to have any more lockdowns in the state of Texas,” Abbott said to a Dallas radio host on Thursday.
“Our focal point is gonna be working to heal those who have COVID,” he explained, “get them out of hospitals quickly, make sure they get back to their normal lives.”
Abbott had issued a statewide mask mandate for the state on July 2 after a spike in virus cases and hospitalizations.
That order called for “all Texans to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth in public spaces in counties with 20 or more positive COVID-19 cases, with few exceptions.”
At that time, the state had recorded 8,000 new cases of the virus in a single day and was experiencing a spike. On Tuesday, the state recorded 10,826 new daily cases.
Hospitalizations due to the coronavirus have also increased since the first lockdown orders in June and July. At that time, Texas had seen 5,102 hospitalizations due to the virus, but four months later the state has more than 7,400 hospitalizations from coronavirus.
Abbott has said during recent radio interviews that the state will focus on treatments for coronavirus including Bamlanivimab, which will be sent to Texas hospitals, as well as Regeneron antibody cocktail.
“COVID-19 antibody therapy medicine will be distributed next week to hospitals across Texas,” Abbott tweeted on Friday.
“It has been shown to prevent hospitalizations in some patients when used before they become very sick,” he added. “There will be no cost to patients.”
Epidemiology professor Rajesh Nandy told KPRC-TV that although the rise in coronavirus statistics was alarming, the public appeared to be suffering from “COVID fatigue” and that there wasn’t enough public will to support another lockdown.
Here’s a news report about the governor’s comments:
Gov. Abbott: No lockdowns during Texas COVID-19 surge | KVUE
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