Texas Border Business
The Texas Tribune
“It is now time to open Texas 100%”
Texas will end its mask mandate next week — making it the most populous state in the country not to have a one. Businesses can also operate at full capacity starting March 10. In a Lubbock Mexican restaurant on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott argued that Texas had fought the coronavirus pandemic to the point that “people and businesses don’t need the state telling them how to operate” any longer. Abbott’s announcement capped a nearly yearlong stretch of the most intraparty dissent he has seen in his time as governor. The announcement comes as the state reports:
- Less than 7% of Texas’ population is fully vaccinated
- Over 71,000 new coronavirus cases in the past 14 days
- Over 5,600 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Tuesday
- Nearly 43,000 Texas who tested positive for the virus have died
- New variants of the virus appear in Texas, with Houston being the first city in the nation to record all major COVID-19 strains
These numbers are likely undercounts due to delays in data reporting because of the recent winter storm that left dozens of Texans dead, millions without power and caused an 85% drop in vaccinations over two weeks.
What do health experts say? Texans should keep wearing their masks tightly over their nose and mouth and taking COVID-19 safety precautions. Doctors and health officials caution that Texans should not take Abbott’s announcement as a signal to relax the behavior that has led to a recent decrease in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations, such as avoiding large gatherings, washing hands frequently and wearing masks. Researchers also say it’s possible that people who already had COVID-19 could be reinfected. While the vaccines appear to be effective enough against current variants, new ones that show up as the pandemic stretches on could be more resistant.
