SAN ANTONIO — As Texas meets a grim new milestone with nearly 5,500 new coronavirus cases reported Tuesday – by far the highest daily count during the ongoing pandemic – Gov. Greg Abbott is loosening the leash and allowing local governements to set their own mandates when it comes to outdoor gatherings.
Specifically, Abbott is allowing mayors and county judges to set limits on outdoor gatherings that are more than 100 people in size. (A similar previous order said local leaders could only impose limits on outdoor events with more than 500 people.)
In the same order, Abbott directs the implementation of "strict health and safety standards and procedures" for preventing COVID-19 spread within Texas child care centers, although the details of those standards and procedures weren't specified in the proclamation.
Abbott continue to urge Texas residents to "do everything in their power to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus," namley "by wearing a face mask, washings their hands often and staying six feet apart from others." As of Tuesday, 2,220 Texans have died from virus-related complications.
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