President Donald Trump was continuing his push to get States reopened as he praised another Republican Governor for rolling back State coronavirus restrictions while welcoming that Governor, Greg Abbott of Texas, to the White House. That reopening comes despite Texas failing to meet the administration’s recommended benchmarks.
Mr. Trump also held a National Day of Prayer service in the Rose Garden on Thursday, praying for frontline workers and the families of those who have fallen sick. “Texas is opening up and a lot of places are opening up. And we want to do it, and I’m not sure that we even have a choice,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “I think we have to do it. You know, this country can’t stay closed and locked down for years.”
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Just hours before appearing with Trump, Mr. Abbott removed jail as a punishment for flouting virus safeguards still in place in Texas amid an outcry over a Dallas salon owner who was jailed for keeping her business open in defiance of Mr. Abbott’s restrictions.
Guidelines breached
Texas is among a long list of States that have been gradually allowing business to reopen despite failing to reach the guidelines spelled out by the White House last month. Those guidelines recommend that States wait until they have seen a two-week decline in documented cases before beginning phased reopenings.
Texas has had more than 34,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 940 deaths. And cases have been creeping up. The State has averaged 1,043 new cases a day in the seven days since stay-at-home orders expired May 1, up from an average of 846 new cases daily during the seven days prior. That’s a 23% increase.
Mr. Trump has taken a hands-off approach to the reopening process, insisting that decisions be left to the States. “The Governors have great power as to that given by us,” he said. The President has not spelled out what authority he is referring to.
During a visit to deliver protective gear to a nursing home in Alexandria, Virginia, Vice President Mike Pence brushed off States’ disregard for the federal guidance, saying he was “very confident that Governors are moving in a responsible way.”
“It appears to me that states are taking a phased approach,” he told reporters.
