Gov. Abbott declares public health disaster, orders all Texas schools closed

AUSTIN, Texas — On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order, requiring all bars, gyms, schools, and restaurant dining rooms to shut down, only allowing delivery and take-out services for food establishments, in response to rapidly growing coronavirus cases in the state.

The order takes effect 11:59 P.M. Friday and continues until April 3.

This comes after several counties and states in the state already issued similar orders. Texas joins more than 20 states with similar orders - including California, Illinois, and New York.

"We have to get back to business as usual as quickly as possible. We can only do that by everybody joining with us," Abbott said. "Our collected goal as a state is to make sure that spike levels off."

At Thursday's press conference, Abbott mentioned the fact Texas leads the nation in natural disaster declarations, but this response requires a different approach. "The traditional mode we have employed in the State of Texas for such a long time so effectively does not apply to an invisible disease," Abbott said.

Additionally, Abbott ordered nursing homes and other assisted living facilities to prohibit visitors, unless it's from medical staff. He also prohibited the gathering of ten or more people.

On Tuesday, Austin Mayor Steve Adler ordered the closure of restaurant dining rooms and bars in the city, while also prohibiting gatherings of ten or more people. This order expires May 1st.

The City of San Marcos issued the same order, until April 1st.

Williamson County received their first positive cases Wednesday, and subsequently enforced the same order, which will run through May 11th.

Since Abbott issued a disaster declaration last Friday, confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state increased from 39 to 143 Thursday, deaths from zero to five, and counties with cases from 10 to 27.

Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt says Thursday's order is necessary to prevent spikes in all three of these categories. "We must all endure the sacrifices we know are necessary and effective to protect ourselves, our loved one and our communities," Hellerstedt said.

Hellerstedt also declared a public health disaster in Texas, the first time this has happened since 1901.

Texas Association of Business CEO Jeff Moseley says these orders will hit the Texas Economy hard. "Texas is a tourism destination," Moseley said. "The restaurant, hotel, and aviation sectors are going to be hit very very hard."

Moseley also believes the U.S. economy will experience a downturn in line with Texas.

"The reality of it is Texas is a significant part of the national economy. The U.S. has a $21 trillion economy, and Texas is one-tenth of that economy, so it really does matter what Texas does. There are more questions than answers right now, so perhaps when we talk a week from now, we will have a better perspective. But really, the time that we’re in, 24 hours really is a lifetime," Moseley said.

Michael Sury is a lecturer with the Department of Finance at UT-Austin. He says many people across the state work in these industries. "These are all areas that are going to be impacted by this order, and we can all expect to see unemployment rise in these areas," Sury said.

Sury says with many grocery stores and other services in high demand during these closures, the temporary worker pool could see a rise in hires that could help alleviate some of these unemployment concerns. However, help from the federal government may provide more relief. "The Treasury Secretary has been working with Congress to try and get through a plan that would get cash in the hands of workers very very quickly. People have been talking about $1,000 very rapidly in a matter of weeks, to be followed up by perhaps other payments that would occur in short order. These are all very powerful stimulus packages that oughta help offset some of the difficulties, certainly not ll of the difficulty that people will be going through over the next couple of months," Sury said.

Moseley says even though businesses across the state are concerned, they do know this is a step that needed to be taken. "There's a value in listening to the healthcare professionals," Moseley said.

Abbott said he could extend the order if necessary, as well as take more drastic measures, like requiring quarantines.