Texas has become the first state to surpass 1 million COVID-19 cases, followed by California, according to the Associated Press.
Texas state officials have not yet enforced additional restrictions since the reporting of the outstanding number of cases in the state, according to the Texas Tribune. This has left many local officials unable to act and forced to wait until further notice from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
The governor has “ruled out any more lockdowns,” even with the increasing number of cases, according to the Texas Tribune. After seeing a decline of cases during the summer, Abbott loosened many coronavirus restrictions and allowed bars to reopen in October.
This caused many people living in Texas to believe that it was safe to go out and socialize, especially since the governor and some other leaders in the state made decisions to reopen early.
While the majority of Texans do follow the statewide mandatory mask policy, many have not. The refusal to wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines has put people’s health in jeopardy.
Many individuals are tired of being quarantined and want to go back to some sort of normalcy. They miss their families and friends, so they are choosing to go out rather than follow safety precautions.
However, if Texans agreed to aggressively quarantine and be disciplined with social distancing regulations for two to three months, this would surely halt the spreading of the virus across the state.
When Texas first reached a record number of cases in the state, Abbott enforced the mandatory mask policy and closed down businesses. However, the second time around, it seems that Abbott is not enforcing the restrictions we need.
With the holidays coming up, it is especially important to follow safety measures and to avoid large social gatherings. We all want to be with our extended family and friends, but right now we have to take these restrictions seriously.
Going through a global pandemic is far from easy, but it is necessary to remember that in order for us to overcome the matter at hand, we need to do our part and follow safety procedures to protect ourselves and the people living in our communities.
