PLANO, Texas — Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott announced a new executive order closing Texas schools through May 4th and enacting more restrictive social distancing through the end of April to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The order states that only essential work and activities will be allowed through April 30th. Failure to comply would result in a fine or mandated quarantine. This wasn’t a shelter-in-place, but Governor Abbott put every Texas county on the same page to, in his words, maximize the number of lives we can save.
"Now is not the time for us to let up in these distancing efforts," Abbott said.
This order supersedes those at the county level. Last week, Collin County Judge Chris Hill ordered that business owners could decide whether or not their companies were essential. After the governor's order, Collin County rescinded its previous order.
For a list of what the State of Texas considers essential services, click here.
In downtown Plano, we found that several non-essential businesses have already made the move to keep themselves and customers healthy. Tina Ames owns Sweet Home Bath and Body, and she didn’t wait to close the doors to her shop on account of coronavirus.
"We hand-make things, people hold it up to their noses," she said. "I couldn’t in good conscience stay open, even though we all were interpreted as essential!"
Ames moved her business online to find the shoppers who used to fill the parking spots outside of her downtown Plano storefront.
"I think our lives are more essential. So for me it was like 'OK, how can I keep running my business and not open my doors?'" she said.
The quiet has already set in, but with the governor's order, we know it will stay for at least another month.
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