Gov. Greg Abbott made this mess on mask mandates. Fort Worth ISD had to clean it up.

Gov. Greg Abbott is besieged on all sides, a fate he could have avoided had he embraced a once-cherished conservative principle: The government closest to you generally governs best.

Texas’ large cities, counties and school districts are defying the governor’s ban on mask mandates as they face wildfire spread of the COVID-19 delta variant that has pushed hospitals to a perilous moment. On Tuesday night, Fort Worth school officials joined them. Superintendent Kent Scribner declared that schools will open next week with a requirement that anyone on campus wear a mask.

That difficult but necessary decision puts Fort Worth ISD in line with the Dallas and Austin districts, Dallas and Harris counties and large cities such as San Antonio and Houston — but notably, not Tarrant County or the city of Fort Worth.

Courts will probably decide who’s right. A state district judge backed Bexar County and an area school district on Tuesday, temporarily upholding their mask mandates. But the governor is likely to prevail, even if it takes the Texas Supreme Court to ultimately rule. State authority supersedes local, and the governor’s emergency powers are sweeping.

But at this point, either outcome is a blow for Abbott. If he loses, it’s a political rebuke from areas that represent the vast majority of the state’s population. If he wins, he’ll bear responsibility if the pandemic continues to rage.

And either way, the process may take long enough that school districts and local governments can keep their mandates during the worst of this virus surge. In the meantime, the governor would be wise to stand back and not be heavy-handed with local decision-makers who are juggling another COVID nightmare.

Abbott, with an eye toward the GOP primary next year, has taken on the no-mandates stance that so many Republicans have embraced. Conservatives are right to be vigilant in guarding liberty, and those who wave that concern away are too flippant about government restrictions on personal behavior. Mask mandates are serious and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Those on the right are wrong, though, to wave away concerns about this dangerous phase of the pandemic and contend that masks won’t help. They will.

We urge school districts to closely monitor the data and remain nimble. Mask mandates, if in place, should be lifted as soon as possible. Proponents often seem to suggest there’s no downside to requiring face covering, but for children, the problems can include skin problems, difficulty breathing and distraction from learning. Exceptions must be made for special health cases or long-established religious concerns.

Fort Worth school officials also made the correct call about informing employees and families about positive COVID-19 tests on campuses. State regulators left it up to districts to decide whether to spread the word. In calmer conditions, it would be reasonable to say that it’s not necessary to alarm parents over every case, just as schools don’t sound the alarm for every flu outbreak. But right now, it’s best to give families as much information as possible.

The current stage of the pandemic has spring 2020 panic levels returning. Everyone should take a deep breath, especially when it comes to children. It’s true that young people are more vulnerable to the delta variant than the original virus, but serious illness and death in kids are still quite rare. Common sense precautions will protect the vast majority.

It can’t be said enough: Vaccines are the way out. Vaccinated people are still highly unlikely to become seriously ill or die from the delta variant, and they are less likely to spread it. Drug companies and federal regulators need to speed approval of the vaccine for children younger than 12.

Leaders of every stripe must spread the most blunt message they can: Just about the only way to die of COVID these days is to be unvaccinated.

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 9:45 AM.