The Texas Supreme Court on Sunday blocked the imposition of mask mandates in two counties that attempted to defy Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order banning such mandates.
The Republican Texas governor has come out strongly against the forced requirement to wear masks amid the pandemic, arguing in favor of voluntary masking. The high court issued a stay order in the legal battle in Dallas and Bexar counties after a lower court ruled last week in favor of local officials.
“Local mask mandates are illegal under GA-38,” the Office of the Texas Attorney General wrote on Twitter Sunday, adding, “Let this ruling serve as a reminder to all ISDs and Local officials that the Governor’s order stands.”
TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT VOWS TO TAKE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO COURT IF MASK MANDATES ARE ADOPTED
The high court’s decision temporarily blocks the mask mandates in Dallas and Bexar counties until the cases can be heard at a later date. The hearing for the Dallas County mask mandate is slated for Aug. 24, according to FOX 4.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, the chief executive for the county who issued the contested mask mandate, says he intends to win the court hearing.
“We won’t stop working with parents, doctors, schools, business + others to protect you and intend to win that hearing,” he tweeted Sunday.
Before Jenkins’s order, the Dallas Independent School District announced on Aug. 9 that all students and staff must wear masks on district property. Administrators cited the county’s “level red” status indicating the significant spread of COVID-19 in their decision to require masking “temporarily,” beginning Tuesday — a move now recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The City of San Antonio, in Bexar County, released a statement in response to the Sunday ruling, declaring that its school mask mandate for K-12 will remain in effect as officials defend the mandate in court on Monday.
Other states such as Florida have attempted to block local municipalities from enforcing mask mandates, with Gov. Ron DeSantis issuing an executive order blocking the enforcement of compulsory mask use. Meanwhile, other states such as Hawaii have reverted to social gathering restrictions due to the rapid rise in COVID-19 delta cases.
Amid the uptick in COVID-19 infections, Texas has recorded a large spike in nursing home cases. The number of Texas nursing homes with active virus cases has risen by 773% in the past month, from 56 in mid-July to 489 on Aug. 11, according to data from Texas Health and Human Services.
In response to the high court’s ruling, Abbott tweeted, “The Texas Supreme Court imposes a temporary halt to lower court decisions that overruled the State ban on mask mandates,” adding that “the ban doesn’t prohibit using masks. Anyone who wants to wear a mask can do so, including in schools.”
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School districts in Harris and Tarrant counties have also dismissed the governor’s order and have gone ahead with mask mandates.
