Texas Gov. Greg Abbott attended crowded GOP event before testing positive for COVID

The night before Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) tested positive for COVID-19, he attended a standing room only event held by the Republican Club of Heritage Ranch.

After announcing that Abbott tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, his spokesman, Mark Miner, said "everyone that the governor has been in close contact with today has been notified." His infection comes as Texas tries to grapple with a rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, with facilities in Houston running out of room in intensive care units and the state requesting five morgue trailers from the federal government. Despite a surge in COVID-19 cases, Abbott has barred mask mandates in Texas, and state Rep. Rafael Anchia (D) said he is "praying this sign will cause him to rescind the order stopping schools from requiring masks."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.