Gov. Greg Abbott will unveil plans next week to restart the shuttered Texas economy, insisting that measures can be taken to “protect lives while restoring livelihoods.”

“We can do both,” he said in a briefing, without providing details.

The remarks come as state and federal Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have begun pushing to reopen parts of the economy by early May. At the same time, infections and deaths from the coronavirus have more than doubled in Texas in the past week, with local officials expecting those numbers to continue to rise.

May is when some Texas communities expect coronavirus patient volumes to surge.

Public health experts have warned against lifting social distancing restrictions too soon, saying it could lead to new outbreaks of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 11,000 Texans and killed 221, according to state totals.

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican who is leading a task force on reopening the state economy, told GOP activists this week that he is confident it can be done by early next month, according to reports from multiple news outlets.

“We’re not going to open up everything immediately, but it will be done in phases,” Patrick said in a call with the GOP of Texas, according to CBS Austin. “We need to get started, and I hope that’s the first week of May, barring any unforeseen big spikes.”

State jobless claims in the past three weeks have hit 750,000, more than all the filings in 2019.

While the White House and Cabinet officials have reportedly called for removing restrictions in the next few weeks, the decision ultimately falls on governors.

Abbott and other state officials said Friday that the outbreak appears to be slowing in some counties, including Bexar, while others are less certain. Harris County continues to have the largest outbreak, with more than 3,000 cases as of Friday.

“We’re decreasing the rate at which the disease is growing, but that doesn’t mean it’s over,” said Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt.

Abbott’s remark about Bexar County contradicts what public health and local government officials said earlier this week. They expect COVID-19 cases there to peak in May or early June, and they predicted that it will take several months after that for the virus to abate. If cases spike beyond current projections, local hospitals could become dangerously overrun with patients.

The New York Times reported Friday that federal health officials have projected large infection spikes if restrictions such as stay-at-home orders and school closures are lifted after 30 days. The governor’s stay-at-home orders currently last through the end of April.

Abbott — who did not issue his stay-home order for Texas until last week, after 30 other governors had done so — said he will lift restrictions only when it appears safe. He declined to say whether testing for the virus will have to increase significantly for the economy to reopen, saying only that it is “part of the solution.” The state has had among the lowest testing rates in the country.

Abbott noted that private labs are sending tests to the state but said testing should still be limited to those who show symptoms.

“If you have no symptoms and you get tested, that’s pointless because you could get the virus that night,” he said. The virus is known to appear in people who are asymptomatic.

Gerald Parker, a Texas A&M vaccine expert, told Hearst Newspapers this week that expanded testing is critical in the weeks ahead.

“Despite the rapid advancement that’s occurred in lab testing over the last month, we’re still catching up,” he said. “And without the lab testing, we’re still almost blind to what’s really happening in the community.”

Staff writer Jeremy Wallace contributed to this report.