LUBBOCK, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott was in West Texas Thursday to get a gauge on the COVID-19 situation in our region.
The governor met with health and government officials in Lubbock and El Paso. He touched on a quite a few things at the meeting like schools opening back up, bars continuing to stay closed and the mask mandate.
The governor harped on the idea that Texans are in what he calls, a "COVID fatigue."
Something he worries will cause a spike in the virus.
“We have had an altered state of life the past 5 months, one that requires wearing a mask and staying home as much as possible," Abbott said. "That is a challenge and it is easy to get sense of fatigue and wanting to stop having to comply with those standards.”
But if we want the state to reopen, he says, we have to continue taking virus precautions seriously.
“If there’s one message I could convey today that is the ongoing necessity that COVID-19 still exists in Lubbock, in Texas and globally," Abbott said. "If people don’t continue maintaining the highest level of standards then we will see an expansion of the virus.”
As of Wednesday, there were an estimated 128,526 active cases of the virus in Texas and the governor worries case numbers may be on the rise as we head into the fall.
“As we return to school, as were on the precipice of flu season and Labor Day, it is important for people to not let their guard down," Abbott said.
Until the positivity rate is below 10%, which now it is 24.5%, Governor Abbott says masks will continue to be mandatory and bars will remain closed.
“In my order of masks and shutting down bars you could see in two-three weeks there was a reduction in COVID-19, the positivity rate and most importantly our hospitalizations," Abbott said. "We have to continue to maintain vigilance with COVID-19 until we have better medication.”
As to when the governor will lift the mask mandate and allow bars to reopen, the governor says there is not specific date they are looking at to do that anytime soon.