Face masks now a must in most of Texas
In a sharp reversal, Abbott requires coverings amid rise in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations
AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday ordered nearly all Texans to begin wearing face masks in public, a measure meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 that is hotly contested among conservatives and has been resisted by the governor himself for months.
The reversal comes as the state enters the Fourth of July weekend amid a dire stretch, with new infections and hospitalizations surging and deaths beginning to mount. Abbott has already closed bars, halted further reopenings and delayed elective surgeries in eight of the state’s hardest hit counties to make way for COVID-19 patients.
The governor has been hounded by Democrats and some health officials over his reluctance to require masks statewide. He previously stripped local officials of the ability to enforce their own mandates and has rebuffed calls for wider orders, falsely asserting that county judges jailed people in the past for not wearing face coverings.
On Thursday, though, he was emphatic that the mandate would help prevent the state from having to lock down again, as it did in April under his emergency order.
“Wearing a face covering in public is proven to be one of the most effective ways we have to slow the spread of COVID-19,” the governor said in a statement. “We have the ability to keep businesses open and move our economy forward so that Texans can continue to earn a paycheck, but it requires each of us to do our part to protect one another — and that means wearing a face covering in public spaces.”
Abbott said first-time offenders will receive a warning and be subject to fines of no more than $250 for subsequent violations. The order does not apply to Texas counties that have fewer than 20 coronavirus cases or to children under 10 or anyone out exercising. Most enforcement will likely be up to local police, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers; the order does not specify.
Masks will not be required at voting booths or religious gatherings, though they are encouraged, according to the order. Texas is one of four states that have declined to expand mail-in voting amid the pandemic, despite legal pleas from Democrats.
“People are going to be scared to vote,” state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, said in a virtual town hall Thursday night, expressing disappointment at the voting exclusion.
Republicans remain intensely
divided over the issue. Some openly criticized the governor last month when he allowed county judges to begin fining businesses that don’t require masks, saying the move would unfairly punish employers who have already been financially pummeled by the crisis.
State Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, blasted Abbott on Twitter, saying he is “trampling on the Constitution.”
“Want a mask mandate? See if the people who were elected to write laws will pass one,” he wrote, calling for a special session. “I say let Texans decide for themselves.”
A spokesman for the Texas GOP did not respond to a request for comment.
Health experts have said masking will help slow infections but may not go far enough to slow the spread now sweeping across Texas. More than 91 counties recorded their highest case counts in the past three days, Abbott said in a pre-recorded video from his office in Austin.
On Thursday, the state reported nearly 7,700 new infections, according to a Houston Chronicle data analysis, and 7,382 people hospitalized with COVID-19.
“These numbers reveal a very stark reality,” Abbott said. “COVID-19 is not going away. In fact, it is getting worse.”
Democrats welcomed the move, saying it was long overdue. The Texas Democratic Party called on the governor and state Republicans to go further by canceling their annual convention, slated to be in person later this month in Houston. Masks had not previously
been required.
“It took Texas Democrats demanding that he issue this common-sense policy and recordbreaking cases and hospitalizations to get Gov. Abbott to finally act,” Democratic party spokesman Abhi Rahman said. “This is unacceptable.”
Outgoing House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, an ally of the governor, dismissed the criticism in a Twitter post.
Abbott “continues to demonstrate fortitude and flexibility as he monitors and responds to an extremely dynamic situation based on fact-based data and scientific evidence,” he said. “I am grateful for his efforts to keep Texas unified and moving forward.”
Also on Thursday, Abbott restored the ability of mayors and county judges to restrict some outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people and mandated that most people gathered in groups larger than that maintain at least 6 feet between them.