Capitol Roundup

March 3, 2021

Abbott lifts mask mandate, business restrictions, but counties with high hospitalization rates may still enforce

In an executive order issued Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott declared that he will end Texas' statewide mask mandate and will allow all businesses to operate at full capacity. The changes take effect March 10, 2021.

However, some counties with higher rates of Covid-19 hospitalizations may decide to keep certain restrictions in place. A list of areas with high hospitalization rates can be found here.

If hospitalizations in any of the state's 22 hospital regions get above 15% of the hospital-bed capacity in that region for seven straight days, a county judge in that region may use "mitigation strategies," Abbott said.

For example, the county judge can set business operating limits anywhere from 50- to 100-percent capacity. The judge can also require masks but cannot impose criminal penalties for failing to wear a mask. Rather, courts may enforce trespassing laws to have violators removed at the request of a business or property owner.

Businesses may continue to require Covid-19 precautions, including wearing masks, taking temperatures, and asking questions about symptoms, for example. Abbott's order specifically provides that nothing “precludes businesses or other establishments from requiring employees or customers to follow additional hygiene measures, including the wearing of a face covering.”

Abbott, in a statement, emphasized that every Texan has a personal responsibility to implement safe practices, while also admitting that the pandemic has not disappeared.

"We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent," Abbott said in the statement. "Make no mistake, COVID-19 has not disappeared, but it is clear from the recoveries, vaccinations, reduced hospitalizations, and safe practices that Texans are using that state mandates are no longer needed.

"Today's announcement does not abandon safe practices that Texans have mastered over the past year. Instead, it is a reminder that each person has a role to play in their own personal safety and the safety of others."

Meanwhile, the spread of the Covid-19 virus continues across the state, with Texas averaging over 200 reported deaths a day over the last week. And while Abbott is optimistic that the rollout of vaccinations will accelerate, less than seven percent of Texans had been fully vaccinated as of this weekend.

Click here to see the full text of the executive order.