(TEXAS) – Today, Gov. Greg Abbott announced all businesses in Texas will now be able to operate at up to 50% capacity, despite the state continuing to fall short on the very data measurement goals the governor himself set weeks ago.
- Texas has still failed to complete 30k tests in a day without commingling data, and the
average daily tests have gone down over the past week. - Since Memorial Day, which occurred about three weeks after Phase 1 of “Open Texas”
was enacted, we’ve seen our three-highest single-day case totals since the pandemic
began. The state is reporting these spikes even while testing is decreasing, rendering the numbers particularly concerning. - All of this, along with the jump in our positive testing rate and the flatlining of
hospitalization numbers, shows a troublesome lack of progress — especially at a time
when Gov. Abbott continues to loosen statewide safety measures.
State Representative Chris Turner (D-Grand Prairie), Chair of the Texas House Democratic
Caucus, released the following statement in response to the Governor’s actions:
“On Monday, Texas saw its highest 7-day average of new cases since the pandemic
began. The data are clear — unfortunately, COVID-19 numbers are moving in the
wrong direction right now and we need to tap the brakes, not step on the gas.”
