File under we told you so: 1,000 or more new coronavirus cases have been found in Texas for five days in a row.
From The Hill:
According to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, 1,179 new cases were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Lone Star State to 41,048.
Since Gov. Greg Abbott (R) allowed some businesses to resume operations on May 1, Texas has only been below 1,000 new cases per day twice — on May 4 and May 7.
On Tuesday, Anthony Fauci, one of the nation's top public health officials, appeared before the Senate Health Committee and warned that states who reopen their economies too quickly could see new outbreaks of the disease that could result in “needless suffering and death.”
But instead of re-tightening some of the social distance restrictions, Texas seems to be doubling down on relaxing them. The Texas Tribune reported that on Monday, Abbott will announce another round of reopening plans.
We’re opening Texas as fast as possible while also containing the spread of COVID-19,” Abbott said in a Wednesday night interview with KETK-TV.
In fact, cases were clearly plateauing around the beginning of May and they have now taken a decidedly upward turn.
Given that Texas ranked 48th among states in testing per capita (though it seems to have greatly ramped up in the last two days), there’s a good chance the total number of recent cases is a lot higher.
