BRYAN, Texas — We've all been in shelter-in-place mode for the past several weeks, and many of us are waiting for the moment health and government officials tell us it's time to get back to normal.
While Texas has started reopening some areas with restrictions, people are wondering when everyone can officially get back to work.
On Tuesday, Governor Gregg Abbott gave Texans some piece of mind.
“We know that Texans really want to get back to work. It’s kinda part of the Texas DNA,” he said.
Governor Abbott touched on quite a few topics during today’s address to Texans, including testing.
He said, “Though we have more people who are testing positive, we have roughly the same number of people who are hospitalized everyday. That means mathematically the percentage of people who are hospitalized is getting smaller and smaller in relation to those who are testing positive. That is a good thing.”
He then addressed opening businesses in Texas, a concern for many statewide, saying he and his team are working on a program to get folks back to work.
“I said I would be making an announcement this coming Monday on April 27 about next steps on opening up Texas. The good news is that our team has received a lot of information from the public… from various private sector business that are prepared to open up their doors as soon as possible.”
The Governor said those businesses have been giving him their strategies on how to open up safely while containing the spread of COVID-19.
“We are marshaling that information and we are sharing it with our doctors, our doctors are pouring over it. They're already making some suggestions as well as approvals of different types of businesses that we’ll be able to announce here in just a few days will be able to open up,” Abbott said.
Right now, the statewide stay at home order is in effect until April 30, 2020, but governor Abbott will issue a new one for the future.
“Texas is prepared to be taking very positive steps toward opening up our state and finally ensuring that we’re gonna have more employers opening up their doors for their employees and their customers," he said.