ABBOTT: ANNOUNCEMENT COMING ‘PRETTY SOON’ ON POTENTIAL END TO MASK ORDER

  

Governor Greg Abbott is looking into when Texas may lift the statewide mask mandate and other orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at a news conference Thursday in Corpus Christi, Abbott was asked when the state might end the mask requirement as more Texans get vaccinated.  He said state officials are evaluating when they will be able to remove all statewide orders, and that an announcement would be made “pretty soon.”

The mask mandate was instituted last July.  Since then, Abbott has issued orders such as establishing occupancy limits at businesses in regions with high COVID-19 hospitalizations.  He has stressed in the past that there will be no more shutdowns in Texas, saying the state needs to focus on reopening businesses.

Abbott has been criticized by fellow Republicans for his use of executive orders to create coronavirus-related mandates.

As of Thursday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), 4.8 million vaccine doses have been administered, with 1.6 million people fully vaccinated.  State health officials say as many as 22 million people—almost 100 percent of adults in the state, according to census data—would need to be vaccinated for Texas to reach “herd immunity” through vaccines.  Children under 16 are currently not approved to take the vaccines.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has stated masks may need to be worn into 2022.