Texas gov lifts mask mandate & OKs businesses to operate at 100% capacity

Source: RT

March 2, 2021 at 15:14

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has lifted many of the Covid-19 restrictions in his state, permitting businesses to operate at 100-percent capacity and repealing the requirement for people to wear face coverings.

Abbott delivered the “exciting news” during a speech to the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, informing the assembled small business and community leaders that the mask mandate – in place since July – was no more.

NEW: Issuing an executive order to lift the mask mandate and open Texas to 100 percent. pic.twitter.com/P4UywmWeuN
— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) March 2, 2021

The announcement that businesses would be permitted to operate at full capacity going forward doubtless came as a relief for those establishments struggling to return to full operation in the wake of one of the worst storms in Texas’ history. The snowstorm late last month took out power, heat, and other utilities to over four million Texans, killing dozens.

Abbott was one of the later governors to impose a face covering requirement, waiting until July 2nd to demand residents wear masks and bars close down. Tuesday saw 8,140 new cases of Covid-19 diagnosed in Texas, an average change of 18 percent. There were 129 deaths, also a decrease of 13 percent over two weeks, and some 5,611 people were hospitalized with the virus.

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