Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday issued broad restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus, banning public gatherings of more than 10 people and shuttering restaurant dining rooms, bars, gyms and schools across the state.

The executive order takes effect midnight Friday and ends midnight April 3, but could be extended, he said.

Hours later, health officials from Austin and Travis County reported 18 fresh coronavirus cases, bringing the total cases in the county to 41. The virus is now believed to be spreading from person to person in the Austin area, the officials said.

Harris County officials announced Thursday the state’s fifth death attributed to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. A nursing home resident northwest of Houston died at a hospital Wednesday evening, the same day doctors determined he had contracted the virus.

"All jurisdictions must work to contain the spread of COVID-19 for at least the next two weeks," Abbott said at a news conference at his Capitol office, adding that he’s not ordering Texans to shelter in place. "We are doing this now today so that we can get back to business as usual more quickly."

The governor’s action also halts visiting nursing homes and assisted living centers, except for residents in critical care. Restaurant and bar restrictions still allow drive-thru, pick-up and delivery services. School closures do not restrict districts from offering online learning.

Dr. John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Department of State Health Services, also declared a public health disaster in Texas.

The disaster declaration paves the way for control measures, but it does not entitle the state to additional resources and test kits from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hellerstedt said.

Hellerstedt called on Texans to act quickly and decisively, calling the new coronavirus "the greatest public health challenge in living memory."

"It’s necessary because we can’t clearly see the trajectory that COVID-19 will follow if not effectively combated," Hellerstedt said. "We must change the course of COVID-19 before it impacts our state with maximum effect."

The last time Texas declared a public health disaster was in 1901, when the state’s health officer issued a quarantine to stop the spread of smallpox.

Cases skyrocketing

Asked about what enforcement powers the executive order gives the state, the governor said, "This establishes the standards by which all Texans are required to operate their daily lives."

"The state now has the quarantine authority but we are not going to exercise that authority right now because we are going to depend on the responsibility that all Texans will show," Abbott said. "If Texans are irresponsible in their behavior, though, there are more tools that we can use and we can be more aggressive, only if we need to be."

Nim Kidd, the Texas Division of Emergency management chief, sat to Abbott’s left at a table in the governor’s small reception area, and Hellerstedt sat to his right.

Standing behind them were Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Lake Jackson, each of whom gave brief remarks supporting the governor’s action, as well as Abbott’s budget and policy adviser, Elizabeth Farley, and Sarah Hicks, his policy and budget director.

Since Abbott first issued a disaster declaration in Texas on Friday, the number of coronavirus cases in the state has skyrocketed by 300%, he said.

Abbott’s latest orders come days after many jurisdictions restricted public gatherings and closed restaurant dining rooms. In Travis County, all bars and restaurant dining rooms were ordered closed Tuesday.

Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt signed twin orders enacting the restrictions that also prohibited gatherings of 10 or more people.

Abbott also gave Texas restaurants the ability to deliver alcoholic beverages along with food purchases in an effort to help the hospitality industry.

On Thursday, he said continuing to order takeout from restaurants was not only legal but encouraged.

Earlier this week, the White House urged Americans to avoid gathering in groups of more than 10 people, work from home when possible and avoid eating or drinking at bars and restaurants.

"I find it necessary that we as a state, in unison, are doing exactly what has been prescribed by the federal government," Abbott said.

Asked whether his order applied to spring breakers on the beach in Port Aransas, Abbott said, "So any place where anybody would gather, by this executive order they are prohibited from having more than 10 people gather at any one time and location."

Abbott to limit travel

Before Thursday’s order, Abbott had said he preferred to defer to local wisdom to respond to the crisis. But, as governor, he had taken a very dim view of what he considered a "patchwork quilt" of various local regulations over the years that he deemed intrusive and inconsistent — from a fracking ban in Denton to Austin ordinances mandating paid sick leave, limiting the removal of certain trees and regulating ride hailing companies.

Asked whether he regretted not moving to impose uniform standards on the coronavirus response earlier, Abbott said, "The local officials have done a fabulous job in their communities. It’s just with the rapid spread of this but also with the new mandates from Washington, D.C., about not only what the best practices are but what expected practices are, I found it necessary that we as a state are doing exactly what is prescribed by the federal government."

As in past crises — school and church shootings and Hurricane Harvey — Abbott has sought to be an apparent on-the-scene presence.

He was in San Antonio to promote the state’s first drive-thru testing site on Monday. On Thursday he was in Arlington to join with local officials after the death of Patrick James, 77, a resident of the Texas Masonic Home, who had died after contracting the virus.

But, Abbott was asked, if it was wise for him to be traveling and risking possible exposure to the virus, gathered, as he was even in his Capitol office, with a handful of others, not separated by the appropriate social distance.

"You make an insightful point," he said. "And it's important for people to understand that because of the potential transmission of COVID-19, I will be reducing the amount of time and situations in which I will travel."

"How are you?" the governor was asked.

"Very healthy," he said.

He said Thursday night at televised town hall that he had been tested for the coronavirus and the results were negative.

But mentally, he was asked, was the enormity of the crisis weighing on him because this disaster is so far beyond anything that’s he has to contend with before, even Hurricane Harvey?

Abbott, who, in 1984, at 26, was paralyzed when an oak tree cracked and fell on him as he jogged, said, "I will tell you, as the victim of an emergency tragedy myself, I have experienced the internal test of responding to unique, pressing and urgent challenges and this is a situation I feel very comfortable in."