Thread by @TexasTribune

With stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls reopening a week apart from hair salons and pools, Gov. Greg Abbott is moving more quickly than expected to further restart the Texas economy during the coronavirus pandemic. bit.ly/2WyrcsP

2/ Four days ago, Abbott allowed stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls to reopen with 25% capacity.

He’d eyed May 18 as the earliest date for further reopenings, but facing pressure from some in his own party, salons and pools will reopen Friday. bit.ly/2WyrcsP

3/ May 18 will also see office buildings reopen with either five or fewer workers or 25% of the workforce, whichever is greater. And “non-essential” manufacturers as long as they limit their occupancy to 25%. Bars are currently being considered. bit.ly/2WyrcsP

4/ As he has rolled out the additional reopenings, he braced Texans for "flare-ups in certain regions" and said the state has assembled "surge response teams" to dispatch to such problem areas. bit.ly/2WyrcsP

5/ Abbott’s announcement came as the number of coronavirus cases in Texas increased to at least 33,369, including 906 deaths, according to the latest numbers from @TexasDSHS. The virus is present in 216 out of the state's 254 counties. bit.ly/2WyrcsP

6/ "I thought we were waiting to see if the first round of re-opening caused COVID-19 spikes before making decisions on additional openings?" tweeted state Rep. Chris Turner, one of the Democrats who think Abbott’s moving too quickly to open the economy. bit.ly/2WyrcsP

7/7 While the state's testing numbers are increasing, "we're not quite there yet," Abbott said.

He hopes federal assistance and the National Guard mobile testing teams will further ramp up testing, focusing on infection and hospitalization rates. bit.ly/2WyrcsP