Houston Mayor Turner Says COVID-19 Curfew A ‘Nuclear Option’, Calls On Texas Governor Abbott To Do More

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – A pre-Thanksgiving White House report in Texas said state leaders need to do more. Mitigation efforts must be stepped up and Texas is in the red zone for cases, the report argues.

But Gov. Greg Abbott’s office told ABC13 on Tuesday that Texas had the protocols in place. A spokesperson said: “It worked this summer, it will work now if people follow the guidelines.”

The governor’s office also said Texas had mechanisms in place, citing the emergency measure that orders bars to close and restaurants to reduce capacity to 50% if COVID-19 hospitalizations exceed 15% of the ability for more than seven consecutive days in a given trauma. Service area.

But when you see a video like the one recorded at a Houston nightclub last week, a place that has already had its liquor license suspended twice since late June, is there no more nothing to do?

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Mayor Sylvester Turner agrees with the White House assessment. He raised the possibility of a curfew. We pressed him on Wednesday to find out what the threshold might be and why he hasn’t done so yet.

“I’m not ruling out anything,” Turner said. “But at this point what I can say is we’re not here. It’s like… It’s a nuclear option. The governor has the ability to use fewer nuclear options. “

Turner also said, as he’s been doing for months, that Abbott has stripped his ability to do a lot more. All power resides in Austin, and while he has done what he can by canceling parades and other in-person events like the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree, which will now be virtual, he also said he did not have the manpower to enforce the mask restrictions. or the occupation of the club to fight growing crime.

“At the local level our resources are quite slim so it is difficult for fire marshals, police officers, to move from one establishment to another when we are fighting the criminal element, fires and so many others. things we have to face, ”Turner said.

To this, the governor’s office said: “The mayor has said he cannot enforce the current restrictions, so what confidence is there in enforcing the additional restrictions he is asking for?”

They also suggested that Turner could use the CARES Act funding to hire more people to enforce capacity limits.

But the mayor is right that he has little power to enforce the restrictions. Most of the power belongs to the state, and that’s where the White House report seeks to act.

“The state is driving the car,” Turner said. “We are passengers.”

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