TEXAS – On March 2 Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that he is opening Texas 100%. This means that mask mandates will go away and that restaurants will be open with no restrictions, meaning they will be 100% full. Schools in Texas can still require the use of masks until they receive word from the state that they can not. Despite the spread of the virus in that state continuing to be an issue and the death toll numbers from Coronavirus in the state still being high, Abbott feels that businesses need to get back in business. ¨It is now time to open Texas 100%,” said Abbott. ¨…people and businesses don’t need the state telling them how to operate.¨ However, Abbott has said that if Covid hospitalizations rise above 15%, then a judge in the county may use some Covid mitigation methods. The changes go into effect on March 10.

(Compiled from The Texas Tribune for The Guilford Voyager by Ewan Bickford, original reporting done by Patrick Svitek)