Name: Families of Texans who died of COVID-19 demand an apology from Gov. Abbott, ask for more action
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Families of Texans who died of COVID-19 demand an apology from Gov. Abbott, ask for more action

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1:47 PM on Sep 18, 2020 CDTThe families of four Texans who have died of COVID-19 met virtually Friday to demand an apology from Gov. Greg Abbott and to ask for action to prevent its spread.As the number of Texans who have died of the virus approaches 15,000, the families called for an opportunity to meet with Abbott for him to apologize and express his condolences; for Abbott to give more power to local leaders to respond to the pandemic; and for more resources in areas hardest hit by the virus.Ahead of Friday’s video call, the Beat Abbott political action committee projected those demands and the stories of families who have lost a loved one to the virus on a building across the street from the governor’s mansion in Austin.The governor’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.LIVE: We're projecting stories from COVID victims' families across from the Texas Governor's mansion, where Greg Abbott has to see them. He hasn't met with any Texans who have lost loved ones to COVID. It's time for him to apologize, hold himself accountable, and take action to save lives.Posted by on Thursday, September 17, 2020Rosie Davis, of Irving, was among those on the video call Friday. Davis' mother died May 17 of COVID-19.“That’s left a huge void in my life,” Davis said, adding that she believes Abbott acted too quickly in reopening businesses across the state.“We need some kind of apology. We need some kind of acknowledgement from him about the decisions he made,” Davis said.Rosemary Rangel also joined the call, demanding more resources in areas of the state that have been hit hard by the virus. Rangel’s father died of the novel coronavirus July 12 in Brownsville.“I want him to acknowledge that we’ve lost so many people in the Rio Grande Valley,” Rangel said of Abbott. “I want him to provide resources to the areas hit the hardest.”Among those resources, Rangel called for the state to place a greater emphasis on ventilation systems in schools and workplaces, which she believes the state is not doing as it reopens further.Abbott announced Thursday that he would ease some restrictions, allowing businesses and facilities that had been limited to 50% capacity to expand to 75% — if they’re in a hospital region that for at least seven consecutive days has had 15% or less of its hospital beds filled by COVID-19 patients.Related:Fiana Tulip, who was on the call, said Abbott should give more power to local leaders and allow them to manage the virus at a local level. Tulip’s mother, who died of the virus on July 4, less than a week after she had tested positive for COVID-19.“Abbott’s most basic duty is to keep his state safe. He hasn’t done that,” Tulip said. “There will never be justice for those who died because of the decisions Abbott has made.”Tulip wrote a letter to Abbott in July, inviting him to attend her mother’s funeral service, but the letter was unanswered.Tulip and other speakers laid out their demands, which went hand-in-hand with their personal experience with COVID-19.“Abbott is making a choice to allow people to die when he could allow county judges to save their lives. Under the governor’s statewide orders, local governments cannot enforce their own stay-at-home orders,” Tulip said. “If Gov. Abbott truly values conservative government, I am asking that he allow leaders to decide where and how they need to protect their people.”Related:Tulip continued, asking elected officials to immediately and publicly denounce President Trump’s coronavirus plan in exchange for data-driven public health measures.“Abbott can no longer feign ignorance regarding the severity of the pandemic and Trump’s purposeful downplaying of the situation is no longer a secret,” Tulip said.Tulip and the others who spoke at Friday’s news conference asked Abbott to simply recognize the families of Texas who are suffering after losing a loved one.The final request included wanting Abbott to provide more resources to communities impacted most by the pandemic.COVID-19 is killing Latinos at a disproportionate rate. Latinos' COVID-19 death rate has hovered well above 50% despite only making up 40% of the Texas population.Related:Chris Carlos Garcia, whose father died of the virus, backed Tulip, adding that many local leaders across the state had issued their own shutdown and mask orders before Abbott did.“Local leaders were taking the right steps before they were stopped by Gov. Abbott,” Garcia said.As the virus continues and Texas takes another step toward further reopening business, Garcia said it is frustrating for him to see so many people out and about while others mourn the loss of their loved ones.“Mourning during a pandemic is very strange,” he said.The Beat Abbott PAC was founded to “hold Abott accountable for his catastrophic failure to protect Texans from COVID-19 and to build a campaign in waiting for the eventual Democratic nominee in 2022,” according to the PAC’s treasurer, Zack Malitz.“Early in the pandemic, Texas cities took the lead,” Malitz said. “As a result of effective public health regulations implemented at the local level, it initially seemed like Texas might keep the worst of the virus under control. Then Abbott took over the state’s COVID response. He took away local public health authorities' ability to create public health regulations. He recklessly reopened the state against the advice of public health authorities and he issued a statewide mask order far, far too late. The results have been catastrophic.”Related:Get email alerts on breaking news stories as soon as they happen.By signing up you agree to our

1:47 PM on Sep 18, 2020 CDTThe families of four Texans who have died of COVID-19 met virtually Friday to demand an apology from Gov. Greg Abbott and to ask for action to prevent its spread.As the number of Texans who have died of the virus approaches 15,000, the families called for an opportunity to meet with Abbott for him to apologize and express his condolences; for Abbott to give more power to local leaders to respond to the pandemic; and for more resources in areas hardest hit by the virus.Ahead of Friday’s video call, the Beat Abbott political action committee projected those demands...

Families of Texans who died of COVID-19 demand an apology from Gov. Abbott, ask for more action

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