In an abrupt reversal, Gov. Greg Abbott directed Texans in all counties with 20 or more coronavirus cases to wear face masks in public places. He also authorized limits on public gatherings.<\/b>
\nGov. Greg Abbott on Thursday ordered all Texans to wear face coverings in public, with a limited number of exceptions, a sharp reversal that underscored the severity of the coronavirus outbreak that has surged out of control in Texas.
The executive order, announced the afternoon before the Fourth of July holiday weekend, followed sustained lobbying from leaders in the state\u2019s largest cities, who are mostly Democrats, and came in the face of likely opposition from Republicans in the state, many of whom already chafed at Mr. Abbott\u2019s mandates from Austin.
The Republican governor has increasingly cited face masks as a key step in keeping the coronavirus at bay, but he had repeatedly stopped short of requiring their use until Thursday\u2019s order.
\u201cOne of the best ways to keep businesses open, while also slowing the spread, is to wear a face mask like this,\u201d he said in a taped video address from his office, holding a cloth mask in the colors of the Texas flag.
Mr. Abbott said the scale of the outbreak in Texas caused him to act. On Wednesday, the state had 8,100 new cases, its highest single-day total. The average number of people hospitalized for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has tripled since late May, the governor said.
The governor\u2019s order, which goes into effect on Friday, provides for fines of up to $250 per violation after an initial warning, but no jail time. In April, when the state initially appeared to have its outbreak under control, Mr. Abbott had blocked municipalities from imposing fines.
But amid the accelerating rise in cases, the governor changed course. He described Thursday\u2019s order as a necessary step to avoid thrusting the state back into lockdown.
\u201cWe need to refocus on slowing the spread, but this time we want to do it without closing down Texas again,\u201d the governor said.
It was unclear how Texans, many of whom regard the decision on mask-wearing to be a matter of personal choice, would react to the order. Masks have been required in many of the state\u2019s major cities since last month, when local governments were allowed to decide whether to require them inside businesses. But in areas where they have not been ordered, such as large stretches of West Texas, shoppers at grocery stores and diners at restaurants often eschew them.
Democratic leaders largely praised the order. \u201cGovernor Abbott did the right thing in this instance,\u201d said Armando Walle, a state representative from Houston, the Texas city hardest hit by the pandemic.
But a number of Republicans, already angered by Mr. Abbott\u2019s move to once again close bars, were upset by the order and the possibility of fines. Some legislators complained that Mr. Abbott had made his decision behind closed doors and had not called the Legislature back into session.
\u201cWe need a special session now so legislators can pass laws, not Abbott,\u201d State Representative Tony Tinderholt, a Republican from Arlington, wrote on Twitter.
The governor is in a tough spot,\u201d said Reb Wayne, a Republican political consultant in Austin. \u201cHe\u2019s trying to balance the public health and general welfare of the state versus some of the voices within his own political constituency who are not happy.\u201d
He said pressure against imposing the face mask mandate came from what he described as the \u201clibertarian\u201d wing of the Republican Party, which has seen mask-wearing requirements as an assault on personal freedoms. \u201cThey were already clamoring prior to this order today,\u201d he said. \u201cHe clearly did not do this lightly.\u201d
Lina Hidalgo, the top executive in Harris County, which includes Houston, said in a statement that she welcomed the governor\u2019s move. Ms. Hidalgo had attempted in April to adopt a general requirement for mask-wearing in her county \u2014 not just in businesses \u2014 that would be enforceable with a fine. But the governor had pre-empted her, and other local officials, from taking such actions.
Ms. Hidalgo said Mr. Abbott\u2019s new order would not be enough to stop the spread of the virus. \u201cI continue to advocate for an enforceable stay-home order in Harris County,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cI\u2019m afraid that waiting will only lead to more lives lost.\u201d
In San Antonio, Mayor Ron Nirenberg applauded the new statewide requirement. \u201cIt\u2019s about time,\u201d said Mr. Nirenberg, who describes himself as a progressive independent.
\u201cUnfortunately it has been heavily politicized by state and federal leaders in Texas and across the country,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope its effectiveness is not blunted by the severity of the surge that we\u2019re seeing.\u201d
The governor\u2019s order also authorized mayors and county executives to impose restrictions on some outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people, and required six feet of social distancing in any large gatherings.
\u201cLarge gatherings are a clear contributor to the rise in Covid-19 cases,\u201d he said, adding that \u201crestricting the size of group gatherings will strengthen Texas\u2019 ability to corral this virus and keep Texans safe.\u201d
The face mask order, which has certain exceptions for young children, people with medical conditions and people eating in restaurants or exercising outdoors, applies in all counties that have 20 or more cases of the coronavirus.
It is also the latest sign that Republicans are increasingly embracing masks, as the virus spreads in Republican-led states in the South and the West. Vice President Mike Pence pointedly wore a mask at a church visit in Dallas on Sunday, and this week President Trump, who has resisted wearing a mask in public, said: \u201cI\u2019m all for masks. I think masks are good. \u201d
The mask order was immediately the talk of Texas. On the patio of a restaurant in downtown Lubbock, a conservative college town in West Texas, opinion was divided and the discussion was animated among a group of a half-dozen unmasked people who had just come from a funeral.
Tye Stewart,37, said that although he was not wearing a mask at the moment, while he drank a beer, he had kept one on for the entire funeral in the 100-degree heat. \u201cI was sweating, but it\u2019s not that bad,\u201d he said.
Janessa Black,29, a restaurant worker, said she, too, generally wore a mask when outside her home. \u201cI wear a mask to protect other people,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s only fair that they wear masks to protect me.\u201d<\/p>\n