Governor lifts mask mandate for Texas
Texas Governor Greg Abbott lifted just about all of the COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday.
Effective 12:01 a.m. March 10, 2021, businesses can operate at 100 percent and masks, while encouraged, are not required. Schools will be subject to the guidelines of the TEA, which should be forthcoming later this week.
But County Judge Steve Young still encourages all to wear a mask.
“Remember this new edict does not say that wearing a mask is bad, in fact, the Governor encouraged that we all wear masks in public,” Young said. “Further, the edict does not suggest that keeping your distance or washing your hands is unwarranted. In fact, wearing a mask, keeping your distance and washing your hands have always been an individual decision as the Governor’s Executive Order had little enforcement authority. Because the enforcement provisions were so weak, we never tried to enforce the mask requirement in Milam County. But, I asked every citizen to do so and I continue to ask every citizen to do so now.”
Young reminds everyone that less than seven percent of our population in Texas has been fully vaccinated.
“In order to reach so called herd immunity we need to vaccinate 70-80 percent of the State’s almost 30 million citizens, which is roughly 22 million individuals, or almost every adult in the state,” Young said. “We are a long way from those numbers. Every day, 200 plus Texans die because of the virus. In Milam County alone, 39 citizens have died from the virus and 176 have been hospitalized.”
“At the end of the day, the decision to wear a mask has been and continues to be an individual decision,” Young said. “We never know for sure if we are carrying the virus and thus wearing a mask helps prevent the next person from getting infected. Therefore, even though Governor Abbott’s Executive Order 29 is being rescinded, it does not mean that wearing a mask is a bad idea. To the contrary it is the best thing we have short of vaccinations to prevent the spread. So do your part – wear a mask!”
“With the medical advancements of vaccines and antibody therapeutic drugs, Texas now has the tools to protect Texans from the virus,” said Governor Abbott. “We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent. Make no mistake, COVID-19 has not disappeared, but it is clear from the recoveries, vaccinations, reduced hospitalizations, and safe practices that Texans are using that state mandates are no longer needed. Today’s announcement does not abandon safe practices that Texans have mastered over the past year. Instead, it is a reminder that each person has a role to play in their own personal safety and the safety of others. With this executive order, we are ensuring that all businesses and families in Texas have the freedom to determine their own destiny.”
During his remarks, the Governor discussed the incredible advancements that Texas has made that allow the state to open fully and lift the mask mandate—noting the rapid increase of vaccines. Nearly 5.7 million vaccine shots have been administered to Texans, and the state is now administering almost one million shots each week. By next Wednesday, about 7 million shots will have been administered in Texas and over half of seniors in Texas will have received a vaccine shot. By the end of March, every senior who wants a vaccine should be able to get one. The vaccine supply continues to increase so rapidly that more and more Texans will soon be eligible to receive a vaccine.
The Governor noted that Texas has a surplus of personal protective equipment and can perform over 100,000 COVID-19 tests a day. The state has invested in a variety of anti-body therapeutic drugs that have kept thousands of Texans out of hospitals. Texans have also adopted daily habits that reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure and infection. More than 2.5 million Texans who were lab confirmed for COVID-19 have recovered since the beginning of the pandemic, and experts note the total number of Texans who have recovered from COVID-19 is likely 4-5 times that amount. The number of active COVID-19 cases is the lowest since November—meaning more Texans are recovering from COVID-19 than contracting it.
This executive order rescinds most of the Governor’s earlier executive orders related to COVID-19. Effective next Wednesday, all businesses of any type may open to 100% capacity. Additionally, this order ends the statewide mask mandate in Texas. Businesses may still limit capacity or implement additional safety protocols at their own discretion.
If COVID-19 hospitalizations in any of the 22 hospital regions in Texas get above 15 percent of the hospital bed capacity in that region for seven straight days, a County Judge in that region may use COVID-19 mitigation strategies. However, County Judges may not impose jail time for not following COVID-19 orders nor may any penalties be imposed for failing to wear a face mask. If restrictions are imposed at a county level, those restrictions may not include reducing capacity to less than 50 percent for any type of entity.