Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday he will remove the statewide mask mandate as of Wednesday next week and allow all businesses to open at 100 percent capacity, citing low COVID-19 hospitalizations and contractions and increasing vaccination rates.
In Tarrant County, County Judge Glen Whitley said in an interview with Fort Worth Inc. that he was lifting the mandate for businesses immediately, rather than risk confusion by waiting another week. Whitley told reporters earlier in the day he hoped Abbott would wait until after Spring Break and its potential COVID surge.
"I've always been a proponent of local control," Whitley said. "I wish he'd left it to local control, but he didn't."
Whitley said his decision to lift the local mask mandate was already in place. "It's rescinded," he said.
Businesses can continue to require patrons to wear masks, but they'll no longer have the backup of the governor's order. Abbott's order doesn't apply to federal property or transit systems. President Biden earlier imposed a mask-wearing requirement on federal property and in all transit systems. "If you're on Trinity Metro or at the airport, you have to wear a mask," Whitley said.
Abbott said his new order doesn’t free Texans from the obligations of personal responsibility.
“Each person has their own role to play in their own personal safety, as well as the personal safety of others,” he said.
Businesses that want to continue to impose mask mandates and other related precautions may continue to do so, Abbott said.
“They have the right to do so; it is their business,” he said. “At this time, however, people and businesses don’t need the state telling them how to operate.”
Abbott’s new order says if COVID-related hospitalizations rise above 15% of capacity for seven straight days in any of the state’s 22 regions, a county judge “may use COVID mitigation strategies in their county.”
Abbott said his order would bar jailings for failure to comply, and penalties for failure to wear a facemask. And if a county judge imposes restrictions, at least 50% of capacity must be allowed, Abbott said.
Abbott cited statistics such as 1 million vaccines being administered to Texans per week and what he estimated would be 7 million shots administered by Wednesday next week.
“Equally important, we are getting the vaccines to the Texans who need it most,” he said. “By next week, over half of our seniors will have received a vaccine shot. By the end of this month, every senior who wants a vaccine shot will be able to get a vaccine shot.”
Abbott also cited increasing quantities of COVID vaccine from Pfizer and Moderna, and the introduction of the new Johnson & Johnson shot, the “one-shot that Texas began administering today.”