Greg Abbott says he’s ending Texas mask rule, business capacity limits

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Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that he is ending Texas’s mask mandate next week and will soon have all businesses open at full capacity.

“Now is the time to open Texas 100%,” Abbott said from a Mexican restaurant in Lubbock, arguing that Texas has fought the coronavirus pandemic so much that “people and businesses don’t need the state to tell them how to operate. “. longer.

Abbott said he has withdrawn “most of the previous executive orders” he has issued in the past year to stop the spread of the virus. He said that from next Wednesday “all businesses of any type will be allowed to open 100%” and that masks will no longer be needed in public.

The news is because the spread of the virus remains significant statewide. Texas has an average of more than 200 reported deaths per day for the past week.

Still, the move is not entirely surprising. Abbott said on Thursday that his office was looking at when it could lift all orders for coronavirus statewide and that he would receive announcements “pretty soon.” Texas will be the most populous state in the country without a mask mandate. Currently, more than 30 states have one.

The current trajectory of the virus has been difficult to measure in recent days due to last month’s winter storm, which forced many major counties to close their testing centers and not report cases. Daily confirmed cases and deaths are well below a statewide peak in January. However, the data on hospital admissions is less distorted and has been steadily declining since the end of January.

But only 6.5% of Texans were fully vaccinated on Sunday, although Abbott was optimistic that the pace will pick up as more vaccines are made available to Texas.

Experts say Texas is still a long way from achieving herd immunity. If the 70% to 80% level that many believe is needed is reached, the census estimates that about 22 million people or nearly 100% of adults in the state would need to be vaccinated. The vaccines are currently not approved for children under the age of 16, who make up about 23% of the population.

Scientists are not yet sure if and how well the vaccines prevent the spread of the virus, although some preliminary research has suggested that some vaccines can do this to some extent.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends that people who have received two doses of the vaccine continue to avoid crowds, stay at least six feet away from people living outside their households, and wear masks to cover their noses and mouths.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease physician, has said repeatedly that he doesn’t know when Americans can get back to normal, but they may still need to continue wearing face masks until 2022.

Chris Essig contributed to reporting.