Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order Tuesday requiring Texans to limit personal interactions that could lead to the spread of COVID-19. The order states schools will remain closed until at least May 4.
Abbott said people can still leave their homes to access
, like groceries or medicine, and go outside for exercise. Essential services will keep running, he said, and people who work for nonessential businesses can work from home.
The order lasts until April 30.
Abbott refused to call the mandate a shelter-in-place or stay-at-home order, saying he doesn鈥檛 think those terms accurately reflect what this strategy really means.
鈥淪helter-in-place is not a good term to use for any of these strategies that have been articulated by anybody,鈥� Abbott said. 鈥淎 stay-at-home strategy would mean that you have to stay-at-home, you cannot leave home under any circumstances. That鈥檚 obviously not what we have articulated here.鈥�
Though called stay-at-home orders, and Travis County still allow people to leave their residences for essential activities.
The governor鈥檚 efforts to increase prevention measures come two days after President Donald Trump to April 30. Abbott said he took the White House鈥檚 guidance in making this decision.
鈥淎s President Trump said just two days ago, now is not the time for us to let up in these distancing efforts,鈥� Abbott said. 鈥淣ow is the time instead to redouble our efforts to make sure that we do more to rid ourselves of the coronavirus.鈥�
Abbott said religious services can continue, but should be conducted remotely or 鈥� if held in person 鈥� should follow presidential or .
Abbott said if local orders conflict with these rules, the statewide order trumps local ones. Local jurisdictions still have flexibility to impose standards not mentioned in the governor鈥檚 order, however.
Any law enforcement officer can enforce the order; violations are punishable by a fine or jail time of up to 180 days, he said.
There are 42,922 Texans who have been tested for COVID-19, and 3,266 have tested positive, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Forty-one people in the state are known to have died from the disease. Of the state's 254 counties, 122 counties have at least one confirmed case.
This post has been updated.
Got a tip? Email Marisa Charpentier at mcharpentier@kut.org . Follow her on Twitter @marisacharp.
If you found the reporting above valuable, please to support it. Your gift pays for everything you find on . Thanks for donating today.
Copyright 2020 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit . 9(MDAxODQzOTgwMDEyMTcyNjI4MTAxYWQyMw004))
