Houston pastor says it’s time to reopen Texas and will resist against “ridiculous” orders imposed on Texans

Pastor Steve Riggle who leads Grace Community Church in the Woodlands, a suburb north of Houston, posted a video message on Facebook, telling Governor Greg Abbott and state officials, “It’s time to reopen Texas. We have been patient, even though every projection of the impact of the coronavirus has been grossly wrong.”

“We were told to flatten the curve because there was no cure, even though a very small number actually die from the virus in comparison with the population and other diseases and causes of death we live with on a daily basis,” Riggle added.

According to State Department of Health Services (DSHS), as of April 17, only .0055 or half of one percent of Texas residents have been tested for COVID-19, roughly 169,536 people out of 29 million, and among them .0006 or 6/100 of one percent have tested positive.

Yet in the month of March more people filed for unemployment in Texas than those who filed during the entire year in 2019.

Riggle publicly said what many have been feeling, adding that the governor “made an announcement about an announcement and appointed a task force to further delay getting everyone back to work when he could have restored everything with a stroke of his pen.”

“Shockingly, his big action was to tell those struggling with mental and emotional health issues to go to the state parks with a mask on rather than opening the churches and suggesting they seek help there,” Riggle added. “He also decided to allow some elective surgeries since the hospital systems in Texas are losing money because so few are actually in the hospital.”

The number of those hospitalized for COVID-19 in Texas is 1,522, or .00005 or 5/1000 of one percent; the number who have died due to COVID-19 is 428 or .000014 or 1/1000 of one percent.

In light of the data, the government has created an economic disaster for Texans putting people out of work disproportionate to the health risks.

“We will Resist, because it is our right to do so, we are free people,” Riggle emphasized. “Unless an overwhelming number of people let our officials know that we are done with their mandates and edicts we will continue to be controlled by them.”

Previous to Riggle’s announcement, several Houston-area pastors filed a lawsuit over Harris County’s order to close churches.

Within days of Riggle’s call to resist, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton published a statewide guidance allowing churches to hold in-person services during the coronavirus shutdown. The governor has opened state parks and allowed for some medical services to be conducted, however most “non-essential” businesses remain closed and the Texas economy– the 10th-largest in the world– remains crippled.