As Texas Republican Gov.

Greg Abbott formulated a plan this week to

reopen the world's 10th largest economy, he had to strike a delicate
balance between two opposing forces: a push from the state's powerful
business community eager to get back to work and health professionals
and economists warning that a premature restart could be deadly.

In the end, Abbott took a measured approach. Instead of kicking off a full
restart, the Texas governor announced that a group of medical and economic
experts will guide him through a series of incremental steps aimed at slowly
reopening the state's economy.

The group's aggressive name, the "Strike Force to Open Texas," belies
Abbott's surprisingly cautious framework. Plans to restart business won't
come until April 27, and Abbott stressed they will be determined by "data and
by doctors."

Still, Abbott is ahead of the curve as one of the first big state governors to
announce a firm time line for lifting his April 2 stay-at-home order.

"Opening in Texas must occur in stages," Abbott said during his briefing
Friday. "Obviously, not all businesses can open all at once on May 1." A
premature opening of private businesses, he said, would risk further
outbreaks and "be more likely to set us back, rather than to propel us
forward."

to reopen the famously pro-business Texas. The Lone Star State and its
$1.8 trillion economy, second only to California in size, has been hit
particularly hard by a one-two punch of tumbling oil prices and a global
pandemic.

Texas is awash in unemployment claims that have topped one million in

the past four weeks—representing about 7.2% of the state's total labor
force.

At the same time, it's only been two weeks since Abbott issued his stay-
at-home order. Texas remains woefully behind many of the nation's other
largest states in the number of coronavirus tests conducted, which made
some of Abbott's early optimism about re-opening all the more striking. In
a state of 29 million people, only 169,536 coronavirus tests had been
conducted as of Friday, according to the Texas Department of State
Health Services, with a total of 17,371, cases reported and 428
coronavirus-related fatalities.
 That's put Abbott in a difficult position of having to protect the Texas
economy while heeding the warnings of epidemiologists. As he's
discussed plans to get Texas back to work, Abbott has toggled between
making it sound as if Texas will be among the first states ready to throw
open its doors and striking a more prudent tone.

Through the week, as Abbott's public messaging made it sound less likely
that he would announce a grand reopening, he began taking fire from
members of his own party who say he's moved too slowly to reinvigorate
the economy and has been overly deferential to public health experts. On
Thursday for example, Don Huffines, a former Texas Republican state
senator who represented Dallas County, wrote a blistering op-ed for the
Austin American-Statesman, excoriated Abbott for his handling of the
coronavirus crisis.

RELATED STORIES

 Scientists say coronavirus won't end with warmer weather

 Long term social distancing may be traumatic
 The nurses risking it all on the frontline of Britain's outbreak
 What it's like inside a Hong Kong quarantine camp

Huffines charged that Abbott has been in lockstep with "emotional

decision makers in Washington who have caused massive e