A ban on COVID-19 restrictions that impose a mandate to wear face masks in public spaces went into effect in Texas after a number of institutions across the U.S. reinstated the policy due to a rise in new infections fueled by the emergence of two new variants of the virus.
Senate Bill 29, which was passed by the state’s Legislature in May and signed by Governor Greg Abbott at the start of June, went into effect on Friday. It prohibits most government institutions from enforcing mask-wearing policies but places no restrictions on private entities.
Some private institutions, hospital operators and colleges have reintroduced the requirements for staff or visitors to wear masks while at their sites to limit the spread of the new variants—EG.5 and BA.2.86—prompting speculation that fresh COVID restrictions may be on the horizon.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told Newsweek on Thursday that it currently had no intention to call for a return of mask mandates.
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The bodies that have so far reinstituted mask mandates have been based in Georgia, California and New York.
Last Friday, Abbott emphatically denied a return of the COVID-era policy—one of several measures thought to limit the spread of the virus—in his state, tweeting: “There will be NO mask mandates in Texas.”
SB 29, which was sponsored mostly by Republicans and one Democratic state senator, stipulates that “a governmental entity may not implement, order, or otherwise impose a mandate requiring a person to wear a face mask or other face covering to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
However, it exempts state-supported living centers, Texas Department of Criminal Justice sites and government-owned health care facilities from the prohibition. It also bans imposing vaccine mandates and the forced closure of private enterprises and schools by government bodies to limit the spread of COVID-19.
In the week of August 19, there were more than 15,000 hospitalizations due to COVID infections across the U.S., the most recent CDC monitoring figures show—a rise of nearly 19 percent from the previous week.
In Texas, there were 1,366 hospital admissions due to COVID-19, an increase of 22.6 percent over the week prior.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, masks were widely employed as a means of limiting the spread of the virus, though mask mandates and vaccine requirements drew protests in some places.
There are differing opinions among the scientific community as to the efficacy of face masks in preventing COVID-19 infections, though many agree that when used in tandem with other measures—such as washing hands, social distancing and vaccination—they help stop the virus from spreading.
In March 2021, Abbott lifted a mask mandate in Texas, citing the rollout of the vaccine. In May that year, he issued an executive order prohibiting government entities from requiring the wearing of face masks, a move that was upheld by the state’s Supreme Court in June.
Newsweek reached out to the office of the Texas governor via email for comment on Friday.
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