Texas AG on state easing COVID-19 restrictions to slowly reopen economy
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, discusses the state updating guidelines for places of worship amid the coronavirus crisis.
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Texas is ready to get back to work, state Attorney General Ken Paxton said Saturday.
Paxton, appearing on "Fox & Friends Weekend," said he believes the bulk of the economy will be up and running in a few weeks as the Lonestar State emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
"I'm not sure if it will be 100 percent. ... I'm thinking somewhere between 75 percent and 90 percent," he told host Pete Hegseth. "It's just going to depend on how things go and whether [coronavirus cases} spike up."
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On Monday, Texas state parks reopened with mandatory preventative health measures in place, on Wednesday doctors were allowed to perform elective surgeries and procedures, and on Friday product pickup was allowed at retail stores.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is set to announce the next phase of the state's reopening plan on Monday.
While the statewide stay-at-home order is set to expire Thursday, it's not clear whether Abbott's executive order will supersede the actions of local officials, such as those in Austin, where the stay-home requirement was extended into May.
A timeline of the first phase of Texas's reopening plan (Texas Governor's Office)
"We have shown that Texas can continue our efforts to contain COVID-19 while also adopting safe standards that will allow us to begin the process of reopening Texas,” Abbott said in a statement Friday.
Abbott and Paxton issued updated guidelinesTuesday that urge the state’s churches to conduct services remotely, but forbid local officials from ordering a house of worship to close to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Paxton, also a Republican, praised Abbott's approach.
"The governor, I think, wisely included churches and houses of worship and synagogues in his essential services," the attorney general said Saturday. "...We're letting pastors and leaders of churches make decisions individually and, hopefully, they will make wise decisions as they look at their own congregations in their own counties and make decisions about when it's time to go back and meet."
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Paxton said he's confident that people will be able to return to work without endangering themselves or others..
"I turst Texans to make great decisions," he said. "They have done it in the past, and I'm confident they will do it in the future."
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