Abbott weighs lifting state’s mask mandate

Gov. Greg Abbott is assessing when he may lift the statewide mask mandate he implemented last July to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“We’re working right now on evaluating when we’re going to be able to remove all statewide orders, and we will be making announcements about that pretty soon,” Abbott said at a Thursday news briefing on vaccine distribution in Corpus Christi.

He had been asked when the state might end its mask requirement as more Texans receive the vaccine.

Abbott has issued several other coronavirus-related orders over the course of the public health crisis, including capacity limits and business restrictions in areas where hospitalizations are high. Those mandates have earned the governor backlash from the most conservative members of his party, who criticized the orders as government overreach.

Experts have not yet come to a consensus on when it will be safe to end pandemic-related safety precautions, including the mask mandate. Dr. Anthony Fauci has said Americans may need to wear masks until 2022.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said earlier this week that he wouldn’t consider changing the city’s mask guidance until at least June, or when 5 million residents are vaccinated. Until then, he is encouraging residents to wear two masks.

Nearly 1.6 million Texans are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, meaning they have received two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. That represents about 5.5 percent of the Lone Star State’s 29 million residents.

Abbott appeared hopeful about the state’s vaccine supply on Thursday, anticipating allocations to ramp up in the coming weeks with the expected approval of a third vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.