Don’t forget what we must do to stay safe

The next two weeks, which include Memorial Day, will be a test of our resolve to gather safely.

Gov. Greg Abbott is right to widen reopening, but its success depends on Texans’ common sense.

Most businesses in Texas have the go-ahead to reopen, albeit with restrictions. Families and friends are also sure to gather in larger numbers on Memorial Day for the first time in weeks.

Abbott deserves praise for navigating a difficult course through the medical and economic challenges posed by the coronavirus. Office buildings can reopen if businesses operate with no more than 25% of their workers in the office and practice social distancing protocols. Child care is back, a necessity for working parents and a dry run for the challenges schools will face.

Restaurants will be allowed to increase to 50% capacity. Youth sports competitions and camps can resume by the end of this month, and summer school can begin on June 1.

Although this sounds like a return to normal life, it isn’t, at least not yet. There is much about this return to a more normal existence that we can’t predict. The coronavirus is still a threat. We should wear masks, sanitize surfaces, socially distance and take other precautions to protect each other. And older people with underlying health conditions should be especially careful.

It is important for us to remember that Abbott’s orders establish the minimum statewide requirements for reopening the economy. All of us have sacrificed in some way to keep ourselves and our neighbors safe, and it may be quite awhile before we can expect to enjoy the Texas we knew in the way we knew it before the coronavirus so dramatically changed our lives.

The best way to make sure that our sacrifices haven’t been in vain is to do all we can to protect those gains.

The Dallas Morning News