London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 16, 2025

Texas Is Ending Its Mask Mandate

Texas Is Ending Its Mask Mandate

"It is now time to open Texas 100%," Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that he is ending the statewide mask mandate despite warnings from federal health officials that lifting coronavirus safety measures now may lead to another spike in cases and deaths.

“It is now time to open Texas 100%," Abbott said to cheers and applause at a restaurant in Lubbock. "Everybody who wants to work should have that opportunity. Every business that wants to be open should be open."

Under a new executive order that the governor said "rescinds most of" the orders he has issued during the pandemic, all businesses will be allowed to open at full capacity starting March 10. Abbott said Texas is at the point where statewide mandates are no longer necessary to combat COVID-19.

"To be clear, COVID has not, like, suddenly disappeared," Abbott said, arguing that individuals still have a responsibility to follow health protocols. "Personal vigilance to follow the safe standards is still needed to contain COVID. It’s just that now state mandates are no longer needed."

The announcement was swiftly criticized by Democrats in Texas and elsewhere as a "dangerous" and "reckless" decision that will put lives at risk.

“What Abbott is doing is extraordinarily dangerous," Gilberto Hinojosa, chair of the Texas Democratic Party, said in a statement. "This will kill Texans. Our country’s infectious disease specialists have warned that we should not put our guard down even as we make progress towards vaccinations."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the move "absolutely reckless."

A man walks past a shop in El Paso in November.


Just last week, the US passed the unimaginable milestone of half a million people who have died from COVID-19. The decline in cases has now appeared to plateau.

In recent days, top health officials have warned against abandoning the measures implemented to slow the spread of the coronavirus even as the vaccine rollout speeds up in the US.

"With these statistics, I am really worried about more states rolling back the exact public health measures we have recommended to protect people from COVID-19," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said during a White House briefing Monday. "At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained."

Last month, the CDC formally endorsed double-masking to make face coverings fit better as more infectious COVID-19 variants spread across the country. Federal health officials have emphasized the importance of maintaining mask-wearing until most of the population is vaccinated. Masks are currently mandated on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transit, as well as at airports and stations.

Despite the changes to statewide mandates, Abbott said businesses will be able to enact their own safety measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. However, county judges will not be allowed to enact penalties against people who don't wear a mask. Counties in Texas may also impose their own restrictions, he said, but all businesses must be permitted to operate at a minimum of 50% capacity.

Texas joins a handful of states that have reversed their mask mandates. Several states never implemented a mandate at all.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also repealed his state’s mask mandate Tuesday, saying case numbers “have fallen to the point where no county meets the original criteria for a mask mandate.”

“I am replacing our current orders with recommendations,” Reeves said in a statement. “Everyone should continue to listen to [State Health Officer Thomas] Dobbs and other health advisors for the best possible wisdom regarding how you can personally stem any risk of catching COVID.”

Under the executive order signed by Reeves, only indoor arenas need to limit capacity to 50% and face coverings are still required in schools.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
×