Gov. Greg Abbott announced executive orders Friday that will ease some of the most severe restrictions imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

"We’re now beginning to see glimmers that the worst of COVID-19 may soon be behind us," Abbott said. "We have demonstrated that we can corral the coronavirus."

However, all Texas classrooms, public and private, including institutions of higher education, will remain closed for the remainder of the school year.

Abbott said that all stores in Texas will be able to operate retail-to-go beginning next Friday, in which they can deliver items to customer’s cars, homes or other locations.

Abbott said state parks will be reopened Monday. Visitors must wear face coverings or masks and maintain a distance of 6 feet from non-family members and not gather in groups of more than five.

The governor said that, effective Wednesday, the ban on nonessential surgery will be loosened to allow doctors to perform procedures, such as diagnostic testing for cancer, without having to get an exemption, as long as they don’t deplete hospital space and personal protective equipment needed to treat COVID-19 patients.

Abbott sidestepped the question of how this might affect Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s interpretation of Abbott’s previous order as banning abortion except when the life or health of the mother is at risk, a ruling that is being challenged in the courts.

"Ultimately, obviously that will be a decision for courts to make," Abbott said.

Abbott also said he was imposing infection control policies to better protect residents of nursing homes and assisted living centers and also limiting movement of staff between facilities.

Friday saw more daunting numbers: State health authorities announced 35 new fatalities, the second-highest single day total — bringing the state’s death toll from the virus to 428 — and 916 new confirmed cases, roughly the same number as the day before. But the rate of increase in new cases appears to be slowing. The number of cases overall — 17,371 — is roughly double the number from 10 days ago. That figure on April 7 — 8,262 — was double the number from six days prior.

Strike force

Abbott also named a special panel to advise him on the best steps to restart the economy, called the Strike Force to Open Texas, led by Austin banker James Huffines, a former University of Texas regent, with Mike Toomey as its chief operating officer. Toomey, a former chief of staff to Govs. Rick Perry and Bill Clements, has taken a leave of absence from Texas Lobby Group to assume the new position.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Comptroller Glenn Hegar will serve as consulting members of the strike force.

Abbott named four medical doctors to the group, led by Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt, who will develop COVID-19 testing and tracing practices. Abbott also named 39 business leaders, mostly titans of business and industry, to a special advisory council to the task force.

"The Strike Force members named so far represent the business elite, but not the working families whose lives are at risk if a rollout runs ahead of availability of PPE, testing and tracing for all working people," said Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy.

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, speaking on a press conference call organized by the Texas Democratic Party to assess the governor’s actions, said, "The committee he is appointing is hardly representative of Texas at all."

"When you appoint an advisory committee to deal with a pandemic you need to appoint competent experts and those who are most affected by the situation, and instead the governor seems to be appointing lobbyists and big contributors," Castro said.

Glenn Smith, senior strategist with progressive group Progress Texas, said the panel’s members should be required to file financial disclosure statements.

"Arguably there has never been a committee that has so much power over Texans’ lives and livelihoods. It’s essential that they be transparent about disclosing any conflicts of interest," Smith said.

State Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, also noted that "not one county judge or mayor was asked to be on this advisory committee."

"There is a time for politics and a time to get work done, and it’s very disappointing that outstanding leaders like Judge (Clay) Jenkins in Dallas, and Mayor (Sylvester) Turner in Houston were not asked to be involved in this process, and at this critical juncture, their voice is critical, their voice is missing," Israel said.

‘Health and safety first’

The governor said he would announce more moves to reopen Texas on April 27 and that "one of the things that we will consider is the elimination of the stay-at-home policy," contained in a March 31 executive order, which only permitted Texans to leave home to perform essential services or activities, such as exercising and buying groceries.

"Together, we can bend the curve. Together we can overcome this pandemic. We can get folks back to work. We can adopt safe strategies that prevent the spread of COVID-19," Abbott said. "And, step by step, we will open Texas."

"Now, in opening Texas, we must be guided by data and by doctors," Abbott said. "We must put health and safety first."

Democrats were most critical of what they said was the lack of adequate testing in Texas to make the kind of informed medical judgments necessary to safely restart the economy.

"Texas ranks, depending on the day, dead last or somewhere around third to last in per capita testing," Castro said. "And that’s why I say it’s a see no evil, hear no evil approach. Gov. Abbott’s approach has been that more tests are coming, they’re coming, and yet they’ve never come."

Abbott said Friday he had talked to the White House, and he anticipates a "massive amount of testing capability coming to Texas by late April or early May," with capacity for "not just testing those who may show symptoms, but also being able to test entire communities so that we have better information."

The governor’s moves Friday also left some critics on the right unsatisfied.

Former state Rep. Matt Rinaldi tweeted after the news conference that "Alabama comes out with these bold, clear and precise plans for restarting the economy & Texas gets whatever that press conference was. @DonHuffines was right. We have scared and indecisive leadership."

Seriously, Alabama is the kid at the science fair with a working rocket, and @GovAbbott brought a shoebox diorama of a rock.

— Matt Rinaldi (@MattRinaldiTX) April 17, 2020

Former state Sen. Don Huffines wrote an op-ed in Friday’s American-Statesman under the headline, "The governor is accountable for a Texas economy in ruins."

The same day, Abbott named Huffines’ older brother, James, to lead the Strike Force to Open Texas.