Texas governor is planning to reopen 'so many businesses' in the state, announcement coming Monday

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is planning a declaration soon that will reopen a large amount of businesses in the state and will supersede the declarations of local jurisdictions.

During an appearance on Glenn Beck's radio program Wednesday, Abbott teased his plans to safely reopen the nation's second most populous state and asserted that his order won't be thwarted by county officials.

"By law, when we are in a time of disaster, it is the governor's disaster declaration that has the supremacy power over local disaster regulations," the governor started out by saying. "I'm going to be announcing another declaration that opens up so many businesses across the state of Texas.

"That will be the law in the state of Texas," he quickly added. "Every county will be required to follow that law — and so we will be injecting a whole lot of freedom."

Abbott plans to make the declaration that will likely reopen businesses such as restaurants and hair salons, among others, on Monday.

Last Friday, the governor launched a statewide strike force tasked with planning and implementing the state's reopening strategy. The strike force includes public officials, health experts, and business experts.

During the announcement, Abbott suggested that retail stores may soon be permitted to provide product pickups through a "Retail-To-Go" model. He also said he is considering opening up hospitals to performing elective surgeries again. Abbott also said state parks would reopen this week, but schools would be closed for the remainder of the school year.

"Even more openings will be announced in May when it is determined that the infection rate continues to decline and when testing capabilities are sufficient to test and contain outbreaks of the virus," he added.

Texas has had at least 21,069 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and at least 543 deaths due to the virus.