Yesterday Gov. Greg Abbott ended the state’s mask mandate and touted the importance of reopening businesses to 100 percent capacity. The same day, Mayor Steve Adler and County Judge Andy Brown sent a letter to the governor, urging him not to discard the face mask mandate. “Supported by our public health professionals, we believe it would be premature and harmful to do anything to lose widespread adoption of this preventative measure,” they wrote. The governor’s order comes as Austin moves out of stage 5 Covid restrictions to stage 4, largely due to the widespread adoption of mask-wearing and other precautions that have succeeded in slowing the spread of the virus, according to county health officials.
Editor’s Note: Andy Brown is on the board of the Capital of Texas Media Foundation, the parent nonprofit of the Austin Monitor.