While Gov. Greg Abbott has taken the cautious path in reopening Texas, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has blazed a trail toward a more rapid reopening as both states had COVID-19 deaths peak in August.
Parson’s Show Me Strong Recovery plan had the state fully reopened June 16, only three months after the state had its first COVID-19 case, according to a news release from Parson’s office.
The Associated Press credited Parson’s decision to begin reopening on May 4, in part, to a survey by the Associated Industries of Missouri asking businesses how they were affected by the pandemic. Approximately two-thirds of the 146 businesses surveyed between April 15 and 20 reported substantial declines.
Yet the survey also included comments from business leaders both for and against a rapid reopening, the Associated Press reported. On May 4, approximately a week after receiving the survey and comments, Parson permitted all businesses to reopen with social distancing.
However, prior to enacting a full reopening in June, Parson’s office insisted on meeting four goals, according to the release from his office. These included expanded testing capacity, expanding both public and private reserves of personal protective equipment, the ability to continue monitoring health care capacity and expand it if needed, and an improved ability to predict potential outbreaks.
Although the statewide health order ended June 16, local officials were still able to set their own health restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the release.
Since June, Missouri has seen a steady increase in cases that correlates to an increase in tests, according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard. At the same time, coronavirus deaths increased in late July, peaking in August, and are currently declining to midsummer numbers.
Parson, himself, tested positive for the coronavirus in September, as did his wife, Teresa.
The Texas Dashboard, does not look substantially different from Missouri’s, with the exception that confirmed cases began to decline in August. However, like Missouri, Texas had coronavirus deaths peak in August, with a steady decline since.
While Abbott has begun to reopen Texas, even permitting restaurants, retail stores and office buildings to go to 75% capacity from 50%, he also excluded the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and Victoria hospital regions, according to coverage by The Texas Tribune. The three regions are considered to be “in the danger zone” due to coronavirus cases comprising 15% or more of hospitalizations.
For those areas not considered to be in the “danger zone,” some establishments and events have no occupancy limit, according to Abbott’s executive order. They include all religious services, local government operations, child care, youth camps, recreational sports, schools, and drive-in entertainment such as movies and concerts. At the same time, many of those continue to have to follow other guidelines, such as masks and social distancing.
Yet the Texas Recovery Alliance recently cautioned that failing to speed reopening – especially of critical business sectors on the verge of collapse – could leave the state’s economy irreparably damaged, according to coverage by Texas Business Daily.
