`
`9/8/20, 4:43 PM
`
`DONATE
`
`NEWSLET TERS
`
`EVENTS
`
`AUDIO
`
`DATA
`
` LOG IN
`
` SIGN UP
`
`CORONAVIRUS IN TEXAS
`
`Gov. Greg Abbott warns if spread of COVID-19
`doesn’t slow, “the next step would have to be a
`lockdown”
`Abbott has repeated that warning multiple times in local television interviews this week.
`
`BY ALEX SAMUELS
`
` JULY 10, 2020 UPDATED: 3 PM
`
`COPY LINK
`
`REPUBLISH
`
`https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/10/greg-abbott-shutdown-texas-mask-order/
`
`Page 1 of 8
`
`IPR2020-01546
`Apple EX1021 Page 1
`
`
`
`Gov. Greg Abbott warns of economic shutdown if Texans flout mask order | The Texas Tribune
`
`9/8/20, 4:43 PM
`
`Gov. Greg Abbott gives an update on Texas hospital bed capacity and the state's strategy for fighting COVID-19 during a press
`conference at Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.
` Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin
`American-Statesman
`
`Need to stay updated on coronavirus news in Texas? Our evening roundup will help you
`stay on top of the day’s latest updates. Sign up here.
`
`With Texas continuing to break records for new coronavirus deaths and
`hospitalizations this week, Gov. Greg Abbott reiterated Friday afternoon that
`things will continue to get worse. And if people keep flouting his new statewide
`mask mandate, he said, the next step could be another economic lockdown.
`
`“Things will get worse, and let me explain why,” he told KLBK TV in Lubbock. “The
`deaths that we’re seeing announced today and yesterday — which are now over 100
`— those are people who likely contracted COVID-19 in late May.
`
`“The worst is yet to come as we work our way through that massive increase in
`people testing positive.”
`
`The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one.
`
`Texans will also likely see an increase in cases next week, Abbott said, and people
`abiding by his face mask requirement might be the only thing standing between
`businesses remaining open and another shutdown.
`
`https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/10/greg-abbott-shutdown-texas-mask-order/
`
`Page 2 of 8
`
`IPR2020-01546
`Apple EX1021 Page 2
`
`
`
`Gov. Greg Abbott warns of economic shutdown if Texans flout mask order | The Texas Tribune
`
`9/8/20, 4:43 PM
`
`“The public needs to understand this was a very tough decision for me to make,”
`Abbott told KLBK of his face mask mandate. “I made clear that I made this tough
`decision for one reason: It was our last best effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
`If we do not slow the spread of COVID-19 … the next step would have to be a
`lockdown.”
`
`Abbott has pushed that message repeatedly in television interviews this week. But
`he emphasized Friday that another shutdown was not imminent and he pointed to
`steps he has taken so far to scale back reopening in an effort to curb the spread of
`the coronavirus, including the mask order and a requirement that bars, once again,
`close their doors. He has also tightened restaurant capacity limits.
`
`Texas reported 100 more coronavirus deaths on Thursday, another record.
`
`In three live television appearances Friday afternoon, Abbott acknowledged that
`his mask order — that Texans in counties with more than 20 cases wear masks in
`public — was neither popular nor convenient, but said it was important for
`everyone to join in the effort. His plea to Texans comes as nearly 80 Texas counties
`have opted out of the order order, while others are refusing to enforce it.
`
`“It’s disappointing,” Abbott told CBS Tyler of government entities who defy his
`mandate.
`
`“I realize that a murderer or rapist or robber is far more serious to concentrate on.
`However, I know this also: If we do not all join together and unite in this one cause
`for a short period of time of adopting the masks, it will lead to the necessity of
`having to close Texas back down,” he said. “That should be the last thing that any
`government wants.”
`
`As of Thursday afternoon, 2,918 Texans had died of COVID-19. The state also
`reported nearly another 10,000 new cases of the disease.
`
`The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one.
`https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/10/greg-abbott-shutdown-texas-mask-order/
`
`Page 3 of 8
`
`IPR2020-01546
`Apple EX1021 Page 3
`
`
`
`Gov. Greg Abbott warns of economic shutdown if Texans flout mask order | The Texas Tribune
`
`9/8/20, 4:43 PM
`
`The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one.
`
`CORONAVIRUS IN TEXAS
`
`School Reopenings
`
`Nursing Homes
`
`Voting by Mail
`
`Coronavirus Case Map
`
`Nearly 9,700 people were in Texas hospitals on Thursday, too, the highest number
`since the pandemic began.
`
`With cases of the virus and related hospitalizations rising at alarming rates, Abbott
`expanded his ban on elective medical procedures Thursday to cover more than 100
`counties across much of the state. On Friday afternoon, he also extended his
`disaster declaration for all Texas counties in response to COVID-19.
`
`“If we can get people across the state … to wear face masks, we will be able to keep
`the state open,” Abbott said in an interview with KSAT. “We will be able to reduce
`hospitalizations. But if this is not encouraged, if people do not adopt the best
`practice of wearing a face covering, it will lead to an increase in this rapid spread of
`COVID-19.”
`
`In a statement following Abbott’s interviews, the Texas Democratic Party said any
`further shutdowns would be Abbott’s fault.
`
`“By reopening Texas prematurely, Abbott put all of us at risk for rising cases and a
`second shutdown,” said spokesman Abhi Rahman. “That’s exactly what has
`happened so far. Abbott’s mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis has made
`Texas one of the most dangerous states to live in, completely tanked our economy,
`and shown the entire world just how incompetent Trump and Abbott are.”
`
`Help us cover coronavirus in Texas
`
`The Texas Tribune newsroom is reporting on how the new coronavirus is affecting Texans. From testing
`to health care interactions to economic impacts, we want to hear from you.
`https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/10/greg-abbott-shutdown-texas-mask-order/
`
`Page 4 of 8
`
`IPR2020-01546
`Apple EX1021 Page 4
`
`