TEXAS GOVERNOR LIFTS MASK MANDATE, BUSINESS RESTRICTIONS

Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued the most sweeping rollback of coronavirus restrictions of any US state on Tuesday, lifting a mask mandate and saying most businesses may open at full capacity next week, Dan Whitcomb reported for Reuters.

Abbott's executive order comes as many US states and major cities seeing a sharp decline in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations begin to ease the unprecedented lockdowns put in place a year ago.

"It is now time to open Texas 100%," Abbott, a Republican, told a news conference. He said the order would take full effect on March 10.

The order lifts all mask requirements statewide and forbids local authorities from penalizing residents who do not wear a face covering. It removes all restrictions on businesses in counties without a high number of hospitalizations.

Local officials can still apply limits to businesses where hospitalizations remain high, according to the order, but were prohibited from mandating that they operate at less than 50% capacity.

The governor said he was able to lift the restrictions because Texas, the third-most-populous U.S. state, has administered nearly 5.7 million vaccine shots to its 29 million residents. According to Abbott's office, by the end of March, every senior who wants a vaccine would be able to get one.

The decision puts Texas in conflict with US President Joe Biden, a Democrat who has urged Americans to keep taking COVID-19 precautions, including wearing masks, until vaccinations have fully tamped down the virus.

In remarks at the White House on efforts to step up vaccine production, Biden did not mention Texas. But the president appeared to be referring to Abbott's executive order when he urged Americans to continue wearing face protection.

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