Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told "Hannity" Monday that a key aspect of eventually reopening the state's economy is learning how so-called essential businesses are dealing with the coronavirus threat.
THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK, STATE-BY-STATE
"We want to open. Texans love to work. Texans are dying to get back to work," Abbott said. "We want them to get back to work, but we have to do so in a very safe way so that we don't regenerate the spread of the coronavirus in the state of Texas. But we're working on strategies as we speak with medical experts and business leaders to find the right strategy so we can unleash our economy."
"Texas was the number one state in the United States for job creation last year; leading in Gross Domestic Product," Abbott added. "It is essential for the future of the United States of America economically. America needs Texas to get back to business."
"There have been some businesses that have been open while at the same time, we've been reducing the spread of the coronavirus," the governor added, "so we need to learn from the strategies about what works and allow other businesses to deploy those strategies while we are ensuring that we continue to slow the spread of the coronavirus."
Abbott noted an epicenter of the pandemic like New York City will likely focus on "contact tracing" and regularly taking people's temperature in public, and added that Texas could learn from that model if it were implemented back East.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
"I think most states can reopen even sooner than later. We don't have to wait until May 1," host Sean Hannity added, referring to the date when President Trump has said he hopes to begin easing coronavirus restrictions.