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Texas Governor Greg Abbott praised his residents for their cooperation in fighting COVID-19, and argued that the U.S. needed to perform more testing to determine who has immunity to the virus.
“I am so impressed with our fellow Texans,” Abbott told Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Saturday. “I had the opportunity to look at images across the entire state of Texas, and everyone is doing a terrific job of complying with this order to make sure that they are reducing the spread of the coronavirus in Texas.”
“People are beginning to understand that the best way that we can slow the spread and actually avoid death is by this stay-at-home standard, going out only for essential services, going to a grocery store,” he said.
Abbott added that he talked with Dr. Fauci, who’s helping lead the coronavirus response, about increasing the nation’s capacity to test individuals who show signs of immunity.
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“The more that we can show an increase in the percentage of the people in the United States who show immunity, I think that will show that we have the ability to begin — at a minimum — to get those people back to work, but as well as use other strategies to get people back to work and to unleash our economy in the United States,” he said.
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His interview came after Texas directed its residents to stay at home except if engaging in essential activities.
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“If you’re not engaged in an essential service or activity, then you need to be at home for the purpose of slowing the spread of COVID-19,” he said, according to The Texas Tribune.
Abbott defined essential activities and services as those outlined by the Department of Homeland Security at the end of March. They included banking and financial services, grocery stores, and child care for essential service employees.
