Tarrant County ends mask mandate, effective immediately, following Gov. Abbott’s order
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Reopening Texas
On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared that the state will be 100% open come March 10. Here’s what Tarrant County residents need to know.
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Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley has removed the county’s mask mandate immediately after Gov. Greg Abbott announced he would remove his statewide mask order.
Meanwhile, Fort Worth will not extend its citywide mask order, Mayor Betsy Price said, though she criticized Abbott’s move as “premature” and told residents to continue to wear masks and stay away from crowds.
Abbott’s order will end March 10, but to avoid confusion and misunderstandings, Whitley ended his order on Tuesday.
“If he’s going to lift the mask mandate, why did he wait until next Wednesday?” Whitley said. “What’s going to happen between now and next Wednesday except that people are going to be mad?”
The judge said he would’ve liked to see the statewide mandate be lifted after spring break when officials expect another possible surge of coronavirus cases.
“The governor’s the governor, and he has the right to do whatever he wants to do,” Whitley said.
Whitley also doesn’t want to get into a battle with the state if he were to take a contrary stance.
“In the past, when the governor has pulled orders down and prevented local folks from putting anything else back in place,” he said.
The Fort Worth City Council was scheduled to vote Tuesday night on a resolution continuing the citywide mask order through May 18, but Mayor Betsy Price said the council would no longer consider the extension, letting the citywide order expire. In an emailed statement, she said the city was still assessing how Abbott’s order would impact city services.
Price said Abbott’s order was “premature” and urged people to continue wearing masks, socially distance and wash their hands. She called on Abbott to open vaccines to additional categories so more people could receive the shot.
“As the State’s directive has changed, so must our response,” Price said in a statement. “Now, more than ever, vaccines and testing must be readily available.”
Price said “normalcy is on the horizon” but cautioned residents that while hospitalization rates have slumped the state is “not out of the woods.”
“Personal responsibility remains key, and I continue to encourage residents of Fort Worth to do the same thing I have encouraged for the last year – support your community by doing all you can to keep yourself and those around you safe,” Price said in the statement.
This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 2:49 PM.
