Abbott: No reason to panic despite COVID-19 spike

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott Tuesday referenced an East Texas jail faclity as he stressed that hospitals are not being overwhelmed by coronavirus cases, even as cases in hospitals have reached new highs. According to our news partner KETK, Gov. Abbott said that this was the goal of many social distancing restrictions and shutdown orders that were put in place earlier in the spring. Abbott said that many spikes are from large batches of testing that has come from nursing homes and jails. However, others are patients under the age of 30 who have been in social settings such as bars. Abbott did say that the state would reach yet another high of hospitalizations across the state at 2,622.

The governor went on to list several counties saw that much larger spikes than usual in the past week. One was Rusk County, which reported 104 positive tests on Tuesday. Nearly all of them are from a jail. It is unknown if it is the Bradshaw State Jail, a low-risk facility in Henderson, or some other facility. Near the end of his press conference, Abbott was asked about the upcoming school year just two months away. He said that it is important to him “that kids interact with teachers and other students.” He said that there would be an announcement about the upcoming school year either later this week or next week.