Tag Archives: Greg Abbott

The Washington Post reports: Much of David W. Nagy’s obituary, which ran in his local paper in Jefferson, Tex., on July 30, recounted his painful death from the novel coronavirus at age 79 and named his surviving family members. But midway down, the tone shifted to offer a pointed message for President Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). “Family …

The Houston Chronicle reports: The government’s official data on the coronavirus outbreak is startling: More than 4.6 million cases in the U.S. More than 440,000 in Texas. More than 70,000 in Harris County. But those numbers don’t include all positive COVID-19 patients. Texas, unlike 27 other states, excludes the results of increasingly popular, rapid COVID-19 tests from the numbers it …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott will skip the Republican National Convention later this month in North Carolina as he continues to respond to the coronavirus pandemic in Texas, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will instead chair the state’s delegation to the scaled-down gathering. Abbott announced the plan in a letter dated Friday to the national GOP chairwoman, Ronna …

Axios reports: The governors in four of the states hit hardest by the coronavirus have taken a massive hit in public approval over their handling of the pandemic, according to SurveyMonkey poll data shared exclusively with Axios. Why it matters: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp — all Republicans …

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: Starr County is at a dangerous “tipping point,” reporting an alarming number of new cases each day, data show. Starr County Memorial Hospital — the county’s only hospital — is overflowing with COVID-19 patients. The county health board — which governs Starr Memorial — has been forced to create what’s being compared to a so-called …

The Austin Statesman reports: State health officials reported a record 10,848 patients in Texas hospitals Tuesday as the number of new coronavirus cases and deaths continued to surge. Tuesday’s hospitalization figure increased by 279 patients. The statewide number has exceeded 10,000 for 12 days in a row, a level that health officials say is straining the health care system.  In …

UPI reports: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday announced the U.S. Navy has been deployed to assist in combatting COVID-19 as the state has reported more than 10,000 cases for five consecutive days. Abbott said the U.S. Department of Defense has sent five U.S. Navy teams, consisting of medical and support professionals, to support hospitals in Harlingen, Del Rio, Eagle …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas today reports 10,745 new cases of coronavirus, a record high, as number of people hospitalized surpasses 10,500. Under Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to revive the economy, businesses started reopening in May. But he paused further reopening plans and scaled back others in June. Recently, he told one TV station he regretted reopening bars too quickly. …

The Austin Statesman reports: Texas health officials on Tuesday reported a record-breaking number of new lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in a single day with 10,745 cases. The previous record for the most number of newly confirmed cases in the state had been set Saturday with 10,351 cases. The reported number of new cases had dropped significantly from 8,196 on Sunday to …

The Texas Tribune reports: 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,” …

CBS News reports: A growing number of sheriffs in Texas say they are refusing to follow a recent executive order requiring masks in public. Governor Greg Abbott’s mandate aims to slow the spread of coronavirus, as cases in the state soared past 200,000 on Tuesday. Police officials in at least nine counties — including Denton, Houston, Montgomery, Gillespie, Upshur, Kerr, …

San Antonio’s NBC News affiliate reports: Governor Greg Abbott’s two new executive orders about face coverings in public and gatherings of 10 people or more have begun. The new orders took affect at noon on Friday. The first order requires all Texans to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth in public spaces in counties with 20 or …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott issued a nearly statewide mask mandate Thursday as Texas scrambles to get its coronavirus surge under control. The order requires Texans living in counties with 20 or more positive COVID-19 cases to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth while inside a business or other building open to the public, as …

The Associated Press reports: A group of Texas bar owners filed lawsuits Monday seeking to overturn Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that closed their businesses to help contain the spread of the coronavirus in Texas. Abbott has pinpointed the re-opening of bars last month as one of the sources behind a dramatic spike in new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and …

The Texas Tribune reports: As the coronavirus pandemic engulfs Texas’ metropolitan areas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has left the door open for massive indoor gatherings. And organizers are moving forward with some big ones, including the Texas Republican party’s upcoming convention in Houston. Harris County, where Houston is located, has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the …

Austin’s ABC News affiliate reports: Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday expressed regret for the first known time about the reopening process he spearheaded during the coronavirus pandemic, saying he should not have allowed bars to open as quickly. “If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars, now seeing …

Houston’s ABC News affiliate reports: Just one day after temporarily pausing the state’s reopening plans, Texas is now increasing restrictions on some businesses in an effort to fight the spread of the coronavirus. Friday’s new order from Texas Governor Greg Abbott includes closing bars effective at noon today (except for to-go service) and reducing capacity at restaurants starting on Monday. …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday morning he is once again putting a stop to elective surgeries to preserve bed space for coronavirus patients — but this time the prohibition only applies to Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties, four areas where the number of patients hospitalized with virus is quickly progressing. Just Tuesday, Abbott stressed that …

The Dallas News reports: Gov. Greg Abbott sternly warned Texans of “rampant” spread of coronavirus that took the state to a new high Tuesday of more than 5,000 new cases in a single day. Saying Texans should stay home unless they have a good reason to venture out, Abbott late Tuesday afternoon gave local officials more powers to limit public …

The Texas Tribune reports: Two staffers for the hardline conservative group Empower Texans have been caught on an audio recording disparaging Gov. Greg Abbott with profanity and joking about his wheelchair use. Upon the comments surfacing Friday morning, Abbott’s office and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick denounced them and Empower Texans said the staffers were “suspended from all public activities with …