Fort Worth extends mask mandate to March amid record-breaking COVID-19 surge
The Fort Worth City Council on Tuesday approved extending the city’s face mask mandate until March 2, 2021.
The vote follows a similar decision from the Tarrant County Commissioners Court last week to prolong the mask rule for the unincorporated county through the end of February.
The extensions come amid a record-breaking surge of coronavirus cases that is expected to continue following gatherings over Thanksgiving. Tarrant County reported 1,401 coronavirus cases and six deaths on Tuesday.
As of Monday, there were a record-high 896 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Tarrant County, up 41 patients from Sunday and up 62 patients from Saturday. Brandon Bennett, the city’s code compliance director, told the council Tuesday hospitalizations had risen 48% over the past two weeks.
Like the county’s order, the city mandate goes hand-in-hand with Gov. Greg Abbott’s July 2 order, which requires people in counties with 20 or more confirmed COVID-19 cases to wear a face mask in buildings and businesses open to the public. Mask must also be worn outdoors if maintaining 6 feet of distance from another person isn’t feasible.
Last week when the Commissoners Court took up an extension of the emergency declaration first enacted on March 13, 62 Tarrant County residents asked Judge Glen Whitley to let the mandate expire. People called the order unconstitutional and compared it to communism.
No one spoke during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
