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Back to work protests spread to Texas

Video Credit: Reuters Studio - Duration: 02:04s - Published
Back to work protests spread to Texas

Back to work protests spread to Texas

Texas became the latest U.S. state Saturday hit by a protest largely from supporters of President Donald Trump anxious to get back to work, while the governor of New York said his coronavirus-battered state may finally be past the worst of the health crisis there.

Fred Katayama reports.

"Let us work!

Let us work!

Let us work!" Back to work protests spread to Texas and other states around the U.S. Saturday.

Protestors gathered in Austin were supporters of President Donald Trump donning Trump hats and shirts but not protective face masks .

"USA!

USA!" Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, had extended school closures on Friday through the end of the academic year.

Hairdresser Jennifer Bailey's shop has been closed for a month.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) JENNIFER BAILEY, UNEMPLOYED HAIRDRESSER, SAYING: "I haven't even received my stimulus check.

So I've gone 30 days with no income.

I just want people to think about how long can you keep your house and a business running off your savings?" Earlier in the week, similar protests erupted in the capitols of Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia.

Trump on Twitter Friday encouraged the protests -- even though guidelines from the White House maintain it's up to the states when they reopen.

Over in New York, the pandemic-wracked state reported another 540 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday.

That's the lowest daily tally since April 1.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state may finally be past the worst of the health crisis there: (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO, SAYING ABOUT THE STATE'S LATEST DAILY DEATH TOLL: "So we're not at the plateau anymore but we're still not in a good position.

And the worst news is still tragic news.

Number of deaths, 540.

It's not as high as it was.

It's still 540 people died yesterday." Saturday ended another week in which millions of unemployed Americans made do without paychecks.

Some of them might look for jobs at Walmart, which said Friday it would hire 50,000 more workers to meet the surge in demand for essentials - with more than 90% of the country under stay-at-home orders.

But several states, including Ohio, Michigan, Texas and Florida, have said they aim to reopen parts of their economies, perhaps by May 1 or even sooner.




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