Gov. Greg Abbott said the daily trend line for the number of coronavirus cases in Travis County is “the type of line you want to see.”
During a briefing Friday at the Capitol, he highlighted the trends in the daily growth of coronavirus in the state’s largest counties. While trends are still concerning in counties like El Paso and Harris, the numbers are more encouraging in places like Bexar, Dallas and Travis.
“It’s way too early to make pronouncements that Travis County is on the downslope, but since about April 2nd, it looks like their number of people testing positive is definitely going in the right direction,” Abbott said.
So far, he said, the data on hospitalizations and deaths show that the prevalence of COVID-19 is less in Texas than in most other states. That’s despite a comparatively lower rate of testing.
“Because we see a steady rate of hospitalizations and a lower rate in Texas than we see in some other states percentage-wise, we know for a fact what COVID-19 looks like in the state of Texas,” Abbott said.
Abbott and health officials stressed that efforts like social distancing and the encouragement of good hygiene are working and should continue.
The governor said he plans to issue an executive order next week to outline what would need to be done to reopen Texas businesses. He said the effort “will do so in ways that protect lives and promote the livelihoods of fellow Texans.”
This post has been updated.
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