Abbott says there are no plans for another statewide shutdown of Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott said there are no plans in the works for another shutdown of Texas.
Abbott told Houston TV station KPRC on Wednesday that despite the ongoing spike in COVID-19 cases, officials are not working on further closures of businesses.
“I get this question, it seems like, a thousand times a day. People are panicking thinking I’m about to shut down Texas again. The answer is no,” Abbott said.
Abbott said officials believe that widespread use of face coverings or masks should be able to slow the spread of the coronavirus and reduce record-high case numbers.
“If everyone can adopt the practice of wearing a face mask for the next four weeks, we will be able to get COVID-19 under control,” Abbott said.
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Two weeks after Abbott ordered most of the state's 30 million residents to wear masks, Texas is still scrambling to contain one of the biggest coronavirus surges in the U.S. On Wednesday, Texas again set a new high with nearly 10,800 new cases, along with a record 110 deaths.
"If we were to shut down for two weeks, as some people are asking, once we open back up you would then see things begin to spread again," Abbott said. "Until there are medications to slow the spread of the coronavirus, there is only one thing that can slow the spread and that is by people adopting the use of wearing a face guard of some sort whenever they go out."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.