Texas

With COVID-19 cases setting records, Gov. Greg Abbott is requiring most Texans to wear face coverings in public. The order takes effect Friday and applies to counties with 20 or more cases.

Gov. Greg Abbott imposes the state's first significant rollback on reopening yet in an executive order issued Friday morning. The day before, Texas reported a record 5,996 new coronavirus cases.

Gov. Greg Abbott said the temporary measure will help the state "corral the spread" of COVID-19 in Texas, which has seen a sharp rise in cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks.

In addition to new cases, "The hospitalization rate is at an all-time high," Gov. Greg Abbott says, describing the dire situation in one of the first states to reopen.

"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free," states General Order No. 3.

Texas' education commissioner says the state's public schools will be open for students to return in the fall. But not everyone thinks that's a good idea, as cases of COVID-19 keep rising there.

Mayors from the state's largest cities have asked Abbott to give them the authority to require face masks amid the spike in COVID-19 cases.

More than one-third of all COVID-19 deaths in America have been elderly residents and workers at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Texas Department of State Health Services says 1,935 people were admitted as hospital patients with the coronavirus. That is up from a previous record of 1,888 more than a month ago.