Texas made the headlines on March 2 when Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the mask mandate and is now allowing Texas to be opened 100%. Abbott is planning for all businesses to be open and have full capacity by March 10.

While the cases of COVID-19 have dropped, health officials are still worried about a possible escalation in cases if the mandates are lifted too soon. However, Abbott believes that the Texans are fully capable of fighting off the virus without the COVID-19 restrictions due to the fact that 6.57% of Texans have received the vaccine.

Judge Lina Hidalgo stated her concerns for the reopening of Texas. She believes that Abbott is making a rash decision and it will only end in disaster.

Not only is Texas pulling back on restrictions, many other states have as well including Mississippi. Gov. Tate Reeves also decided to open all businesses to full capacity on March 3.

Abbott knows that the health officials will be weary about the opening of the state, so he has included a plan that would handle a rise in cases.

This plan states that if hospitalization increases by 15% in any region for a week, then county officials can implement ways to prevent the rise in cases.

Despite Abbott lifting the mandate, some mayors in Texas will still try and encourage people to wear a face covering in some buildings.

Abbott has made a bold decision, and only time will tell to see if it was worth it.

Links:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/us/texas-governor-mask-mandate/index.html