President Trump grants major disaster declaration for Texas due to COVID-19
AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that President Donald Trump granted his request for a major disaster declaration for Texas due to COVID-19.
The declaration would allow FEMA to provide personal protective equipment (PPE), medical and testing supplies, medical response personnel, and hospital beds for Texans.
RELATED: Coronavirus coverage
This comes after a public health disaster was issued for Texas for the first time in over 100 years due to the coronavirus.
RELATED: Track Texas coronavirus cases by county with this interactive map
Gov. Abbott also issued two executive orders over the weekend that waived some regulations to address the nurse shortage and ordered the postponement of all unnecessary medical procedures.
He has not yet issued a statewide stay-at-home order, instead relying on local governments to issue them. He points out that he is the governor of the whole state, and while areas like Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio have many COVID-19 cases, many rural counties have not had any confirmed cases.