Gov Abbott Prepares To Let Texas’s Stay-At-Home Order Lapse Under Several Conditions

Gov. Greg Abbott will let Texas’s stay at home order lapse after April 30 after the Republican issued a statewide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 280,406 Texans filed for unemployment in the week ending April 18 amid the lockdowns, according to figures provided by the Texas Workforce Commission. Abbot also announced Monday that the first phase of Texas’s reopening will begin May 1, with phase two happening on May 18 if the first phase is successful.

“The most important element of phase one is protecting our most vulnerable in Texas,” Abbott said during his Monday briefing on the reopening.

All retail stores, restaurants, theaters, malls, and museums, among other store fronts will be allowed to open after April 30 with the occupancy rate at those facilities capped at 25%, the Republican governor noted. Abbott is deploying thousands of Texas National Guard members to manage mobile coronavirus testing sites across the state.

More than 600 people have died in Texas from the virus, according to the Worldometers website, which provides a running tab on the number of coronavirus cases and deaths.

Conservative lawmakers are pushing for state to begin reopening their state economies. Sen. Rand Paul 0f Kentucky said Sunday that his home state of Kentucky should begin reopening, saying the virus’s dangers no longer justifies an economic shutdown. Coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China before jumping to the United States, where it has reportedly killed 55,000 people.