Photo by Roschetzky Photography
Governor Greg Abbott rolls out his plan for continuing to reopen the economy. This will hopefully help the unemployment situation. The governor says the latest unemployment numbers are disappointing.
“Unemployment numbers are too high and unacceptable. That said, I will tell you that according to the Dallas Federal Reserve, Texas has the lowest unemployment rate of any of the large states in the United States,” Abbot says.
He claims the key is reopening the economy, which should help the situation. The state is moving to phase two of reopening starting this Friday. That includes more people allowed in restaurants. Also places like bars and bowling alleys are being allowed to reopen slowly.
Texas Democrats are pushing back against the governor’s latest easing of restrictions. Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa is critical of the governor for moving ahead with opening the economy after a week that saw a new high point in positive tests for the virus and a single day high in deaths.
“If it is not safe to reopen then we risk a deadly boomerang effect,” Hinojosa says.
State House Democratic Caucus chair Chris Turner accused the governor of glossing over the rise in deaths and positive tests.
“We all want the economy reopened. Unfortunately, President Trump’s and the governor’s mismanaged response to this health crisis is worsening and prolonging the economic crisis,” Turner says
Mayor Steve Adler is nervous about the governor allowing restaurants to take in 50% of their full capacity by Friday and allowing youth and professional sports to resume after the end of the month. He believes that there is more risk that COVID-19 infections will move beyond their current trend.
“What we don’t know is whether we’ll have so much virus spread that it puts our hospitals in danger of being overrun so that people don’t get the care they need or not. The only way we know that is going to be by looking at whatever number are generated,” Adler says.
If hospitalizations spike, the city may once again have to step in.
Bars are reopening around Central Texas this weekend. They’ll all be trying to get the hang of these new regulations. Bishop Badger with Buck’s Backyard live music venue in Buda tells KXAN they’ve lost about $100k since the shutdown.
“We’re all a little bit scared of reopening. We don’t wanna do things recklessly, but at the same time, we have to open just so that we can feed our families,” Badger says.
It’s recommended that bars keep all customers at their tables of no more than six people and that the tables be at least six feet apart. Dancing will be discouraged.
The Texas private sector has continued the slow reopening for a few weeks. Some doctors say they’re actually not seeing the dangerous uptick in cases that many local governments are warning about. Dr. Barrett, with the UT Health Systems, says reopening in stages has actually given the health care sector a real fighting chance.
“We have very wide healthcare providers who understand the dynamics of delivery, and they’re listening to the front line care givers,” says Barret.
The doctors are prepared for any new surge. He’s growing more concerned now about people who need treatment for non-coronavirus related ailments, but who can’t yet get in to be seen.
Austin based Tito’s Handmade Vodka recently rolled out a line of free hand sanitizer for healthcare workers and first responders. The company has made a $1 million donation to the Baylor College of Medicine as it works toward a coronavirus vaccine. The hope is the money can help push a new vaccine beyond the regulatory phase.
Police are increasing their visibility on high speed roads. The Austin Police Department says two cars going more than 100 mph were stopped yesterday on Mopac. APD says the increases in response to a number of serious and fatal wrecks that have happened even though fewer cars have been on the road since the shutdown.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-5-19-20
