As Texas slowly starts to reverse its closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Texans may look wistfully to other states that had their daily operations restored far more quickly.
Gov. Greg Abbott recently relaxed some mandates, allowing restaurants, retail stores and office buildings to 75% capacity aside from the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and Victoria regions, The Texas Tribune reported. In addition, elective medical procedures are allowed, and nursing homes can reopen for visitations under certain standards.
Bars, however, have received no relief as they remain shut. Sports venues will also be able to host spectators at a limited capacity, but it all seems quaint compared to the far more sparsely populated Alaska. As of May 22, Alaska reopened for business and also opened up houses of worship, libraries, museums and all recreational activities including sports venues.
Ray Perryman
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“The understanding we had with the people of Alaska was: Give us some time to build up our health care capacity to deal with what we thought was going to be a spike,” Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said, according to KTOO. “People of Alaska have given us that time. It’s come with great sacrifice. We believe we can manage this virus. We have to manage this virus.”
As students begin to return to the classroom, Texas continues to work on managing the virus and it is important that it continues to move forward and not allow the virus to dictate what direction it takes as momentum is being made.
“That said, additional social distancing requirements would slow the recovery,” Dr. Ray Perryman, president and CEO of the Perryman Group previously told Lone Star Standard. “We've seen notable job gains as high-contact businesses such as restaurants and retail stores have reopened, but that pace cannot be expected to be maintained. If additional distancing is implemented, the recovery would clearly slow even further.”
Texas can ill afford to move slow or backward at this point, some argue. Rather than allow opening based on percentage, the doors should be flung open as the state is in a recession, suffering worse than many other states, they say.
Texas Business Daily reported bankruptcies have doubled since February and jobless claims are rising. The hotel industry has taken it on the chin with revenues down 90%. Tourism and live events also are suffering. Texas Business Daily also reported since mid-March, 3.5 million Texans filed initial unemployment applications, more than all of last year. The unemployment rate is 6.8%, which has made solid improvement since March.
The state still advises that people 65 and older stay home as it opens many venues to 50% occupancy or above. Although there is a a brighter outlook, recovery will be a process and not take place overnight.
“As long as hospitalizations stay at manageable levels, fatalities continue to drop, and vulnerable populations are protected, we should be able to avoid another major setback,” Perryman previously told Lone Star Standard. “Key variables have been trending downward for a while now, and unless things change dramatically, the economy can continue to reopen with caution.
