Abbott looks to reopen Texas businesses in early May

(CNN)Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday announced a statewide task force of medical and economic experts to reopen the state, with early May as a target date, issuing an executive order outlining the standards that will be used to guide the reopening of private businesses.

Plans for opening businesses will be announced on April 27, depending on whether the state has been able to contain the coronavirus, but schools will be closed for the remainder of the school year. Abbott, a Republican, stressed that the framework would be determined by "data and by doctors" and continued adherence to social distancing guidelines.

"Because of the efforts by everyone to slow the spread, we're now beginning to see glimmers that the worst of Covid-19 may soon be behind us," Abbott said at a news conference.
The red state governor's cautious approach to opening private businesses served as an important counterpoint to President Donald Trump's optimism about the readiness of the economy. Texas has long brandished its reputation as one of the most pro-business states in the country, yet Abbott said repeatedly that data from medical experts will guide his orders about what kinds of businesses will reopen in May at a time when schools will remain closed.

Among the medical experts who will serve on the advisory council are Dr. Mark McClellan, the former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner and U.S. Medicaid and Medicare Administrator; Dr. John Zerwas, who is executive vice-chancellor for Health Affairs at the University of Texas system; and Dr. Parker Hudson, an assistant professor of internal medicine and infectious diseases at Dell Medical School.

Those doctors will work in collaboration with several dozen business leaders including Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies; businessman Ross Perot Jr.; jewelry entrepreneur Kendra Scott; Brad Heffington, the owner of Heffington Farms, Inc. and Triple T Irrigation, Inc.; and Kathy Britton, the CEO of Perry Homes, along with a number of small business owners.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/17/politics/greg-abbott-texas-coronavirus/index.html

Rolling along.

Everyone with Texas tags will have to be quarantined for two weeks if they come into California. It's tough love, baby.