Texas leaders blow Greg Abbott’s end to mask the mandate and business restrictions

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Mayors and district judges in some of Texas’s largest metropolitan areas criticized Governor Greg Abbott for his decision to lift the statewide face mask mandate next week, saying it contradicts the advice of health officials as infections are spreading. continue to spread throughout the state, with an average of more than 200 reported deaths per day in the past week.

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, a fellow Republican, called Abbott’s order “premature” and asked him to get more people to get the vaccine.

“I call on Gov. Abbott to open additional categories of vaccines so that more people qualify for a vaccine if they want one,” Price said in a statement. “As the state directive has changed, so should our response. Now, more than ever, vaccines and tests must be readily available. “

City and county officials urged residents of their area to continue to follow recommendations from health experts and officials calling for people to wear face masks in public.

“We shouldn’t focus on what the governor says the law allows, but what doctors and the facts and science we all know well at this point are telling us is necessary to keep us safe and give us the best chance to reach the herd immunity as soon as possible, ”Judge Clay Jenkins said in Dallas.

In addition to lifting the mask mandate next week, Abbott will allow companies to operate at full capacity. If COVID-19 hospitalizations in any of Texas’ 22 hospital regions exceed 15% capacity in that region for seven consecutive days, a district judge could “use COVID mitigation strategies in their state,” the governor said.

But officials denounced the latest order for not allowing local leaders to enforce their own mask mandates. The latest order also removes an earlier option available to local leaders: forcing companies to require customers to wear face masks.

The injunction also notes that “nothing prevents companies or other institutions from requiring employees or customers to take additional hygiene measures, including wearing a face mask.” This brought little relief to the local leaders.

“I am very disappointed, it is an irresponsible action. We still have 464 people in the hospital and 199 in the ICU yesterday, ”said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. ‘We’re still not out of the woods. And I think it is very premature to do this. “

Texans and Americans of color have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. More than half of the deaths from COVID-19 were black or Hispanic people, and advocates have reported that these communities have fallen behind in the vaccination efforts. According to an Associated Press analysis of data from the US Census Bureau last year in Texas and across the country, front-line workers are predominantly women and are more likely to be people of color than other workers.

Wolff was the first district judge to force companies to mandate masks in June last year, after discovering a loophole in Abbott’s previous order that prevented local leaders from setting mandates for the entire district. Now he said he couldn’t do that anymore.

‘He plugged that hole up. He lets companies do what they want to do, ”says Wolff, who was attacked last year by a customer who refused to use a mask. “Now law enforcement has no right to rely on it.”

Wolff said Abbott’s latest order is leaving counties limited to encouraging people to wear masks and keep social distance.

“That’s about all we can do based on what we’ve interpreted,” Wolff said.

Dallas, Harris and Travis county officials said their legal teams are still studying the warrant to clarify these aspects and what to do.

In El Paso, a province where more than 2,000 COVID-19-related deaths have been reported, District Judge Ricardo Samaniego tweeted that Abbott’s command over masks “ would be tantamount to saying we don’t have to wear our seat belts … a good idea if we did. “

In a statement, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called into question the moment for this announcement.

“With the advent of COVID-19 vaccines, we are getting closer and closer to the finish of this pandemic – now is not the time to reverse the gains we have achieved so hard,” said Hidalgo. “At best, today’s decision is wishful thinking. At worst, it’s a cynical attempt to distract Texans from the failure of state control of our electricity grid. “

Ahead of the press conference, Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner sent a letter to Abbott asking for the mask requirement to be upheld. Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown wrote a letter with the same message.

“We think it would be premature and harmful to do anything to lose the widespread acceptance of this preventive measure. Scientific studies have repeatedly shown that widespread wearing of face masks slows down the virus, ”the letter reads. “Particularly with the arrival of new variants of the virus to Texas and our cities, with the associated spike in cases, it is even more important to maintain the most effective of our existing security measures.”

In San Antonio, Mayor Ron Nirenberg called for the opening of businesses with 100% capacity and at the same time a “big mistake” to ban masks.

“COVID-19 is still widespread in our community and infects too many of our vulnerable residents,” Niremberg said in a statement. “You don’t cut your parachute, just like you slowed your descent. Please come with me to keep wearing a mask. “

In a statement, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson called on residents to “keep masking” and said “now is not the time to lower our guard.”

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Judge Glen Whitley in Tarrant County said he will lift the mask mandate today. Last week, Whitley had extended the requirement to May 25.

Disclosure: Steve Adler is a former board chairman of the Texas Tribune and has been a financial supporter of the Tribune, a non-profit, non-partisan news organization funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no part in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a full list here.