The dilemma was suddenly raised after Governor Greg Abbott announced on Wednesday afternoon that the state would lift its mask mandate and allow all companies to operate at 100% capacity starting March 10.
Some companies have barely had a chance to reopen after last month’s deadly winter storm and power outage crisis before hearing about this massive change in the state’s COVID-19 safety protocols.
“I feel like we’ll probably lose guests depending on whatever decision we make, but I think that’s just part of the environment we’re in now,” said Jessica Johnson, general manager of Sichuan House in San Antonio. “Either you wear masks and you get angry with a couple of people, or you don’t wear masks and you get angry with a couple of people.”
At least one business owner, Macy Moore of HopFusion Ale Works in Fort Worth, told CNN on Wednesday that he has not slept since Abbott’s announcement because he is so concerned about the health and safety of his staff. Others, such as Anne Ng of Bakery Lorraine in San Antonio, have decided to maintain mask requirements for staff and customers, no matter what Abbott and the state government say.
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“By repealing the mandate, the government is putting everyone in danger, and food service workers are unfortunately at the forefront of potential hostility from people who will refuse to follow our mask policy,” Ng said. – We don’t deserve that.
Meanwhile, Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, last week passed legislation to prevent any business from being held accountable for exposing people to pandemic diseases. This provision from the draft law no. 3 is one of Abbott’s top priorities for this year’s legislative session. The governor joined Burrows in Lubbock on Tuesday when he announced plans to lift many coronavirus restrictions against the advice of local and federal health officials.
Health experts are still urging Texans to continue wearing masks as new and more contagious variants of the virus appear. Hospitalizations continue to fall after record highs in January, but the state is also averaging more than 200 deaths a day.
Since the state’s mask mandate will officially end next week, the state’s mask requirements are now largely limited to decisions made by Texas companies. Many have gone on social media to announce their intentions to continue requiring masks, while others have said they feel powerless to enforce a rule without state protection or support.
Christine Ha, partner and co-executive chef at Xin Chao in Houston, sent a notice to her entire staff Wednesday afternoon that the restaurant will continue to require masks and operate at a reduced capacity. She expressed concern about the implementation of these policies, however, as local agencies and law enforcement no longer have to support the safety requirements of her restaurant.
“This leaves it to my team to apply these policies and they are dealing with hospitality, not the police,” Ha said.
However, other business owners have emphasized that all they can do now is try to keep both themselves and their staff healthy and safe. In a pandemic world full of so many strangers, many choose to focus on what they can control.
Kristina Zhao, the owner of Sichuan in San Antonio, said most of her clients have remained loyal and supportive over the past year, and the decision to maintain a masked mandate will not discourage that encouragement.
“From my point of view, I can’t really worry about upsetting people, because we try to make a decision that is best for our team and for the long-term sustainability of our business,” Zhao said.
Zhao also wondered if Abbott’s announcement would actually change the current dynamics in Texas. Many grocery stores and other businesses in the state have already faced frequent confrontations with customers who refused to wear masks and anyone who wants to dine indoors has already had the opportunity to do so, albeit with a mask when not seated and with low capacity.
However, some companies have already reported adverse reactions from social media users about their decision to keep a mask requirement in place, despite yesterday’s governor’s move. Jennifer Dobbertin, who runs a restaurant called Best Quality Daughter in San Antonio, said an “anti-masker crowd” has already settled into the restaurant’s social media comments.
“If you don’t want to wear a mask, well, we can respect that,” Dobbertin said. “Please don’t come to our units to eat, but don’t come to the restaurant and try to fight us.”
On Tuesday, HEB announced that customers will no longer have to wear a mask from March 10, according to Abbott’s order, although the chain encourages them to continue doing so. But a few days later, HEB issued a statement saying: “The use of the mask in our stores will remain.” However, Kroger will require employees and customers to wear masks until all food workers have access to the COVID-19 vaccine, according to corporate affairs manager April Martin.
Most low-wage workers in Texas, who are often people of color, did not have the opportunity to work from home during the pandemic. Front-line workers in industries such as health care, buildings and cleaning services, social services, public transport, grocery and delivery and warehouse work are mainly women and people of color.
Colored Texans have been disproportionately killed by the virus and affected by the accompanying recession over the past year. Lawyers reported that these communities also lagged behind in vaccination efforts. And black and Hispanic Texans are more worried about coronavirus compared to white Texans, according to a survey published this week in the Texas Tribune-University of Texas.
Ha, from Xin Chao in Houston, said that maintaining the safest and healthiest practices certainly remains worth the low price of rubbing some customers in the wrong way.
“There are a lot of people who prefer restaurants to continue to follow COVID safety protocols, and these people will be more likely to attend and support restaurants like ours,” Ha said. “So we lose some, we win others. It’s good for me.”
The video above is from a previous story.
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