Texas government defends position on ‘no more lockdowns’ despite surging COVID cases



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Don’t play with Texas – even in the midst of the surging COVID cases.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (right) said on Monday he would not budge in his vehement opposition to the implementation of tougher COVID-19 restrictions, even as Lone Star state has reached a record high daily infection rate over the weekend.

Texas set a day-long case record of more than 12,500 COVID-19 infections on Saturday, according to Texas State Department Health Services.

Abbott, however, appeared unfazed by the alarming surge in COVID-19 rates in his state during an interview on CNBC on Monday.

When asked if he plans to implement a lockdown or tighten coronavirus restrictions given the state’s COVID-19 surge, Abbott bluntly replied: “No more lockdowns in Texas . “

The governor of Texas spoke of automatic restrictions that were implemented in the event of hospitalization in an area crossing a certain threshold. Abbott then argued that the measures, which include closing bars in those areas, would do enough to stop the spread.

“It led, for example, to this decreased spread in El Paso and, I think, decreased spread in Lubbock, which has already improved these places,” Abbott said.

According to the Washington Post, the seven-day average of new infections in El Paso County has dropped significantly in recent weeks, from 1,541 on November 1 to 1,120 on Sunday. But Abbott’s assessment of Lubbock County is misleading, given that the average number of new COVID-19 cases in the county continued to rise, from 325 on November 1 to 477 on Sunday.

Watch Abbott’s remarks below:



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