AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas mayors and county judges have been pushing for more authority from the governor in order to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The governor's given them a little leeway, with allowing local businesses to mandate masks and some crowd control abilities. But one of the governor's own medical advisers to reopen the Texas economy is saying there should be more regional authority.

"I think there are good reasons for having differences in approaches across regions based on how severe the outbreaks are,” said Dr. Mark McClellan, who’s also a former FDA Commissioner and now works as a health policy expert at Duke University. “It's a big and diverse state and so that means a regional approach can really help minimize the disruptions that are needed to contain the pandemic."

Dr. McClellan has been pressing for a pullback on reopening and did applaud the governor's move Friday to shut bars back down and rollback restaurant capacity. But he says he wishes it had happened sooner and warned things will get worse before it gets better.

“From here on out, what people should take away from this is what they do matters,” he said.

He urged Texans to do their part – wear your mask, stay 6 feet apart and wash your hands.

Click the video link above to watch the full interview with Dr. McClellan, including his take on where we stand when it comes to a vaccine and treatments.