Texas Republicans are moving forward with plans for an in-person state party Convention in Houston later this month, despite a massive recent spike in coronavirus cases across the Lone Star State.

The vote came on the same day that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide order mandating that people wear face coverings in public in most of the state’s counties.

CNN reports: The party’s executive committee on Thursday night passed a resolution, 40-20, in support of moving forward with its in-person convention in Houston. The convention will be held indoors at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston from July 16-18. Committee meetings will begin on July 13. The Texas Republican Party said the convention will have multiple precautions and safety measures for attendees, including thermal scanners at entrances and hand sanitizer stations throughout the convention. … “Under the circumstances, we have adjusted our attendance estimates to about 6,000 people potentially attending,” chairman James Dickey (pictured above) said in a statement to CNN.

More from the Texas Tribune: On Tuesday, the party’s plans for an in-person convention looked increasingly uncertain, when the Texas Medical Association, the state’s largest medical group, called on the party to cancel the event, a reversal that came just one day after The Texas Tribune reported on TMA’s sponsorship of the convention. … Thursday’s roughly three-hour meeting included a vibrant discussion about what plans related to the convention, if any, should change. Members went back and forth, making their cases for why the convention should go virtual or remain as scheduled. At one point, one member offered a motion that would have required delegates to test negative for the coronavirus before being allowed to attend the convention. “What a load of horse shit,” one member could be heard saying on the livestream before the motion was ruled out of order.

You can watch the full meeting below.

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