Ah, Texas…..
It just seems like the Governor out there simply does NOT want stop the virus for real…
Trumpian politics sacrificing people’s health by grown men, who should know better….
City officials in Texas say the state’s government has hindered their ability to fight the coronavirus outbreak that is rapidly rising to a crisis as hospitals fill.
Local officials say executive orders from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) have limited their efforts to fight the growing number of cases; they are especially incensed by Abbott’s move to strip local police of the ability to issue tickets to anyone who refuses to wear a mask in public.
“I had the authority and I did require [masks in public] months ago,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo (D) told The Hill in an interview. “We had great compliance, because law enforcement would show up and educate and folks would get it.”
Five days after Hidalgo issued her order on April 22, Abbott used an executive order to prevent local governments like Harris County, home to Houston and more than 25,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, from issuing fines.
“I no longer have the authority to require functionally anything,” Hidalgo said. “All I’ve been able to do is issue recommendations. All along, I kept my messaging that people really needed to not be going to bars and restaurants and clubs.”
Abbott’s office declined to comment beyond the public statements he has made….