Statewide Mask order now in effect
As of July 3 at 12:01 p.m., all Texans are required to wear a mask when out in public. Texas Governor Greg Abbott put out a proclamation stating that all individuals were required to wear masks while in public places. The order requires Texans living in counties with more than 20 coronavirus cases to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth while in a business or other building open to the public, as well as outdoor public spaces, whenever social distancing is not possible.
It provides several exceptions, including for children who are younger than 10 years old, people who have a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask, people who are eating or drinking, and people who are exercising outdoors. Those attending a protest or demonstration are not exempt from the order, as there is no way to properly social distance in that atmosphere.
This comes just days after the City of Marlin extended their mask order, requiring use of face masks in businesses.
On June 3, Governor Greg Abbott gave local entities the power to issue orders such as this one to protect the health and safety of their communities at their own discretion with GA-26. It left businesses eligible for fines if patrons did not use facial coverings.
"Government cannot require individuals to wear masks," Abbott said in an interview with KWXT at that point in time. "Local governments can require stores and businesses to require masks. That’s what was authorized in my plan."
A week prior to the announcement, the Governor announced that he would be pausing any additional reopening phases for the State of Texas, but stated that it would not impact businesses that were already allowed to reopen. The next day, Abbott declared that bars would need to close as of 12 p.m. on June 26 and that all businesses that were open would resume occupancy levels of the previous reopening phases.
This time around, GA-28 does not leave businesses liable, but the individuals who are not wearing the face coverings. If enforced under the guidelines set in the proclamation, first time offenders will receive a verbal warning, but repeat offenders could see fines up to $250 per infraction. Abbott specifically stated that no jail time could be given to those not adhering to the policy.
The order will be in effect until Governor Abbott says otherwise. GA-28 supersedes Marlin’s July 31 mask order end date, along with any other mask orders set by local governments, unless Abbott rescinds the mask requirement before those dates.
The state-wide mask requirement comes after much opposition from various local leaders about the lack of universal requirements and a surge of cases over the past weeks
“As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10 percent, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," the governor said during a press conference.
Texas has seen an increase in total of more than 25 percent in the last week. The state has broken records for new daily cases twice during that time, totalling 195,239 cases on July 6. The state is expected to hit 2 million positive cases in the coming days.
For more information on GA-26, GA-28, or the mask order proclamation, head to gov.texas.gov.