Texas, Mississippi Lift COVID-19 Mask Mandates

Two Republican governors, Greg Abbott of Texas and Tate Reeves of Mississippi, have issued executive orders ending their respective states’ COVID-19 mask mandates and enabling businesses and facilities in the state to return to 100% operations.

Deep in The Heart of Texas: In a press statement issued by his office, Abbott acknowledged the pandemic is far from over, but stressed that medical advancements have made it possible for Texas to become the first state to jettison state-mandated mask wearing and operational limits on businesses. He noted that 7 million vaccines will have been administered in Texas by next Wednesday and that more than half of Texas seniors will have been inoculated.

"With the medical advancements of vaccines and antibody therapeutic drugs, Texas now has the tools to protect Texans from the virus,” said Abbott. "We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent. "

Abbott added that his executive order should not be seen as a cue to abandon public health safety measures, but he insisted individual responsibility needs to take over from government edicts.

"It is a reminder that each person has a role to play in their own personal safety and the safety of others. With this executive order, we are ensuring that all businesses and families in Texas have the freedom to determine their own destiny."

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Meanwhile, in Jackson: In Mississippi, Reeves took to Twitter to announce his state’s mask mandate is ending Wednesday.

“Executive orders that interfered with peoples’ lives were the worst, but the only possible, intervention for much of the last year,” he tweeted. “Now, we are putting our focus towards rapid vaccine distribution. We are getting out of the business of telling people what they can and cannot do.”

Reeves noted Mississippi was among the few states that did not go into a full lockdown during the pandemic, adding that “we’ve been rewarded for it with more jobs and economic recovery. That’s not because what we put in place was a light burden. It’s only because the rest of the country was so harsh.

“We need to recognize that none of these orders, in any state, are anything short of unprecedented. They have to end at the earliest possible moment. This is that moment for Mississippi.”

Image by Leo214/Pixabay.