Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Warns 'Covid Fatigue' Could Lead To Rapid Spread Of Virus
EL PASO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - While visiting West Texas Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott warned Texans about succumbing to "Covid fatigue" as it could potentially lead to another rapid spread of the virus.
Abbott talked about the state seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases due to residents wearing face masks and following social distancing guidelines. However, he also claimed residents have been dealing with "Covid fatigue" as the pandemic enters its fifth month.
"People have what we call Covid fatigue. They're tired of wearing a face mask. They're tired of leading more constricted lives. They're tired of not being able to gather together with friends. And we get that," Abbott said. "But the Covid disease doesn't care about Covid fatigue. The Covid disease is just looking for another body to attach itself to."
The governor warned that "Covid fatigue" could cause issues such more spread of the virus.
"If you get Covid fatigue and you let your guard down, Covid is going to spread very rapidly like it did in June that led to the hospitalization rates that we saw in July," Abbott said.
Although Abbott said the state is seeing a decrease in cases, the positivity rate in Texas continues to increase and reached its highest level on Thursday. The infection rate was at a seven-day average of more than 24% as of Thursday.
The governor has said he would like that positivity rate to be under 10% before considering reopening bars.
There are currently 513,575 confirmed cases in the state as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, along with 9,289 deaths. There have also been about 375,760 recoveries from the virus, according to the state.