Governor Greg Abbott said an economic shutdown is possible for Texas if people don't follow rules on wearing face masks.

In order to keep Texas open for business, Abbott issued an executive order requiring the use of face masks in public for counties with 20 or more COVID-19 cases.

According to a report from Reuters, Abbott considered his face mask directive absolutely necessary to avoid economic shutdown amid the spike in COVID-19 cases in different states in the U.S.

Abbott told his conservative Republican base in Texas that the state has the ability to keep businesses open despite the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the state needs to refocus on slowing the spread of the virus, without closing down again.

In a report from NPR, he said, "Texans can continue to earn a paycheck," but also stressed the importance of protecting other people through the use of face masks.

The directive covered most of Texas' 254 counties.

Masks4All, a volunteer advocacy group, said the directive makes Texas one of 21 states requiring the use of masks in public.

Children under age 10 and people with certain medical conditions are exempted from this rule. Masks are also not required for activities such as swimming, eating in a restaurant and exercising outdoors as long as distance is maintained from non-household members.

Texas Division of Emergency Management will maintain a list of counties exempted from the face mask requirement in their website.

In the executive order, officials are mandated to enforce the face covering requirement but Abbott stressed that "noone will ever be put in jail" for violating it.

First-time violators will only receive a warning but violations that follow will be punishable by a fine of up to $250.

COVID-19 and the Texas Economy

Abbott released a seven-minute video on Thursday saying the spike in hospitalizations in the state are not just limited to big cities and noted that more than 91 counties had seen high COVID-19 numbers in the past three days.

He said Texas is now at a point where the spread of COVID-19 is so fast that there is no margin for error.

On April 30, Abbott's stay at home order lapsed while in early June, businesses opened to at least 50% capacity.

On June 25, he announced that reopening of the state will halt and, on the following day, ordered the closure of bars and tightened restrictions on restaurants and other outdoor gatherings.

Abbott said the COVID-19 situation is not going away and is, in fact, getting worse, BBC reported.

Gatherings limited to 10 people

On Thursday, Abbott also issued a proclamation authorizing mayors and county judges to impose restriction on some outdoor gatherings with more than 10 people.

A stay-at-home order had not been put in place by the governor but he asked people to avoid going out if at all possible.

The face mask executive order is a major reversal for the Texas governor who initially refused to mandate state-wide mask wearing.

He issued an executive order last April prohibiting jurisdictions to impose penalties on people for not wearing face masks in public until, in mid-June, he authorized counties to require face mask policies in businesses.

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