Texas governor unveils $50M small business loan fund, says reopening economy will be ‘slow process’
AUSTIN, Texas -- As much of the Texas economy remains at a standstill to minimize the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday outlined a new program aimed at helping small businesses.
Abbott announced that Goldman Sachs and the LiftFund, along with other community development financial institutions, were partnering to provide $50 million in loans to small businesses in Texas that have been affected by Covid-19.
Small businesses across the state and nation have been ravaged by the virus, with restaurants and retail shops forced to shut their doors or dramatically scale down business. In the last four weeks, more Texans applied for unemployment than in all of 2019.
The virus continues to spread in Texas and experts say we haven't likely seen the peak yet. But Abbott and other state officials expressed confidence that social distancing measures have been working — and Abbott indicated that this week he plans to begin discussing ways to reopen the economy once the worst has passed.
“(But) this isn’t going to be a rushing the gates, everyone is able to suddenly reopen all at once,” Abbott explained from his office in the state Capitol, saying it would be a "slow process."
The governor also hinted at a decision coming later this week on whether Texas schools will remain closed for the rest of the year. Classes statewide are currently suspended through May 4.
President Trump asserted Monday that it will be up to him to determine how and when to reopen the coronavirus-stricken country, though it is unclear what authority he has to overrule the states. Abbott said he spoke with Trump over the weekend and that the White House understands that “what may work for Nebraska may be different than what works for New York.”
Abbott has issued what is effectively a stay-at-home order through the end of April, and while some models show the coronavirus could peak in Texas in late April or early May - the disease could persist for a long time, and there might be more waves of cases, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Health care policymakers are studying the spread of the disease as they decide whether and when to loosen social distancing restrictions.
Texas health leaders on Monday reported 13,827 total virus cases and 286 deaths. However, Abbott observed a number of trends that he called "glimmers of hope with a bunch of red flags attached to those glimmers of hope."
As of Monday, 1,176 patients were known to be hospitalized due to the virus in Texas. That’s "the lowest number of people hospitalized in a week," Abbott said.
As another hopeful sign, Abbott noted that Texas ranked as the "second highest in the U.S. in number of recoveries," which numbered 2,269 as of Monday.
Over 133,000 virus tests have been conducted across the state, the governor said. But that remains an alarmingly low number to many, given Texas' massive population of nearly 29 million people.
