It’s time for the week that was in Texas politics with Alex Samuels, political reporter for The Texas Tribune.
On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order requiring bars to close, restaurants to offer takeout-only service and more. It goes into effect Friday evening and lasts through April 3. Samuels says the order contrasts with Abbott’s earlier stance, which left such decisions up to local officials.
Abbott is also urging municipalities to postpone local May elections until November. He issued a proclamation on Wednesday, but it’s still up to local governments to decide how to proceed.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn faced criticism for his remarks about China and COVID-19.
Sen. John Cornyn: “China is to blame because the culture where people eat bats & snakes & dogs & things like that, these viruses are transmitted from the animal to the people and that’s why China has been the source of a lot of these viruses like SARS, like MERS, the Swine Flu.” pic.twitter.com/N4TIlGFqAL
— The Hill (@thehill) March 18, 2020
He blamed China for starting the pandemic, which aligns with similar rhetoric from the White House. Cornyn told a reporter Wednesday that “people eat bats and snakes and dogs and things like that. These viruses are transmitted from the animal to the people, and that’s why China has been the source of a lot of these viruses.”
Cornyn also said, wrongly, that two other diseases, H1N1 influenza – also known as swine flu – and MERS, originated in China.
Written by Caroline Covington.
