Texas Governor Announces End Of Mask Mandate: ‘Time To Open Texas 100%’

On Tuesday afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) announced that he is signing an executive order that would end the statewide mask mandate and allow for the full reopening of all businesses.

“Too many Texans have been sidelined from employment opportunities,” Abbott said. “Too many small business owners have struggled to pay their bills. This must end. It is now time to open Texas 100%.”

“So today, I’m issuing a new executive order that rescinds most of the earlier executive orders,” Abbott continued. “Effective next Wednesday, all businesses of any type are allowed to open 100%. That includes any type of entity in Texas. Also, I’m ending the statewide mask mandate.”

“Today’s announcement does not abandon the safe practices that Texans have mastered over the past year,” Abbott said. “Instead, it’s a reminder that each person has their own role to play in their own personal safety as well as in the safety of others. It’s a reminder that individual safety is managed every day as a matter of personal responsibility rather than by government mandate. Individual responsibility is a corollary to individual freedom, we can have both.”

Abbott went on to explain that by next Wednesday about 7 million vaccines will have been administered, with a prioritization on those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19.

“By next Wednesday, over half of our seniors will have received a vaccine shot and by the end of this month, every senior who wants a vaccine shot will be able to get a vaccine shot,” Abbott added. “To help this effort I have already announced a statewide program called Save Our Seniors, along with that I deployed more than 1,100 national guard to assist local organizations to help our seniors get the shots they need. These efforts should ensure that we keep hospitalizations low in Texas. Importantly, the number of vaccines will continue to increase rapidly with additional supplies of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as well as the new vaccine that’s come out by Johnson & Johnson, which is a one-shot vaccine, that Texas began administering today.”

“The vaccine supply is increasing so rapidly, Texas will soon expand the categories of people who are able to get them and some medical professionals say that within a few months, every Texan who wants a vaccine shot will be able to get a vaccine shot,” Abbott said.