LUBBOCK, Texas – Chanda Allen of the ‘Let Lubbock Open”, says the group is satisfied with Governor Abbott’s plan to allow retailers and restaurants reopen on May 1.
“I’m just excited that a little common sense is gonna prevail,” said Allen.
The group formed when Mayor Pope ordered all non-essential businesses to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They believe retail giants like Walmart and other have an unfair advantage over locally-owned businesses.
“You can buy a diamond ring at Costco but you can’t buy a diamond ring from a small store like Thacker Jewelry,” said Allen. “You can buy North Face jacket at Academy but you couldn’t come to the Outdoorsman and buy one.”
One person that helped formulate a reopening plan is former Lubbock Mayor Marc McDougal, appointed to serve on Gov. Abbott’s strike force to reopen the Texas economy.
“Out here in Lubbock and West Texas, when a mom-and-pop shop closes, they don’t reopen,” said McDougal.
While never physically meeting, McDougal says the strike force spent countless hours on conference calls developing a plan to get the state’s economy back on track.
“Governor Abbott made it very clear that he wanted to open up Texas, but he wanted to do it safely and with medical advice,” said McDougal.
According to McDougal, residents must still follow expert recommendations to make a safe reopening successful.
“We all have a personal responsibility to make sure that we don’t go out if we don’t feel well and make sure this curve flattens and continues to drop,” said McDougal.
But McDougal warns that reopening too quickly could lead to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
“The last thing we want to do is go so fast that we have to move faster to close everything back down again.”