In a press release last Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared that four pieces of 3-ply surgical face masks would be given free of charge to every Texan who gets tested at a state-run mobile test site.

According to Fox News, the state's executive head announced this plan as the coronavirus cases made its way up to the 5,000 cases statewide last Tuesday. Besides, these new cases, the Lone Star state also registered record number for hospital admissions.

A Government's Initiative

Abbott made it clear in his statement that using a face mask will help prevent the spread of the virus. So, every Texas citizen now has to do their part in reducing the risk of coronavirus by wearing these distributed face masks.

"We have several strategies to reduce the spread without shutting Texas back down, but it is up to us to do our part to protect ourselves and others," the 62-year-old Republican politician elucidated.

This will be a joint effort by the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDM) and the Texas Military Department.

For those wanting to know where they can find the nearest mobile state testing areas in their area, you can check this link provided by The Texas A&M University System.

The Need For Businesses To Be Open

Handing free face masks to every tested Texan is part of the government's strategies of slowing down the virus's infection rate without the need to close down businesses in Texas.

The largest Republican-controlled state reopened in May, and its citizens' eagerness to join the "new normal" resulted in new cases and hospitalizations. Abbott made it clear via Dallas News that the people shouldn't venture outside unless it was needed.

Due to the rising number of coronavirus cases, the Texas governor gave out new policies for COVID-19 safety measures. It included the prohibition of not more than 100 people for outdoor gatherings and the strict implementation of wearing face masks in businesses.

According to the Texas health department, the second-largest state has registered more than 125,000 coronavirus cases, with more than 2,200 deaths. It's been assessed that the country has about 72,000 recoveries.

These surge in Texas' coronavirus cases have been called by Gov. Abbott as unacceptable, according to Jacksonville Progress. Being that the numbers being registered of new cases are off the charts and that for almost a month, admissions have multiplied by two.


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