Masks soon will be mandatory for employees and customers of businesses in Austin and San Antonio.
On Wednesday, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff issued an executive order requiring all businesses providing goods or services directly to the public to develop and implement a health and safety policy within five days.
At a minimum, the policy must require employees to wear face masks.
If the businesses don’t comply, they may be fined $1,000 for each violation.
In addition, everyone 10 years or older must wear a cloth face covering their nose and mouth when in public. And it is recommended that everyone two years or older wear a mask. Face masks may include homemade masks, scarfs, bandanas, or a handkerchief.
Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order mandating that cities could not require citizens to wear face masks. But Texas allows cities to regulate businesses and that’s where Bexar County Judge Wolff found a workaround.
Also, on Wednesday, Mayor Steve Adler in Austin followed suit. He also issued an executive order requiring all businesses to develop and implement a health and safety policy and to require employees and customers to wear face masks.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg issued a similar order to the one issued by Bexar County Judge Wolff.
The moves by Central Texas leaders follow a sharp rise in COVId-19 infections following Gov. Abbott’s move to reopen the Texas economy.
San Antonio and Bexar County now have 5,142 cases of people infected with COVID-19 with 2,348 of those people already recovered. It has recorded 90 deaths from COVID-19.
San Antonio has 241 patients hospitalized, 91 in the ICU, 43 are on ventilators, according to Mayor Nirenberg.
Austin and Travis County now have 4,991 cases of people testing positive for COVID-19 with 3,817 people recovered and 108 deaths. There are 173 people in hospitals with 63 in the ICU and 26 on ventilators.
“The progress we made in flattening Austin’s curve is evaporating,” according to Mayor Steve Adler.
In his nightly Facebook live broadcast, Mayor Adler talked about the latest executive order requiring businesses, employees and customers to wear face masks. He cited research on the benefits of face masks in preventing the spread of COVID-19 led by a Texas A&M researcher. Another study by the University of Cambridge shows “Widespread facemask use could shrink the “R” number and prevent a second COVID-19 wave.”
Earlier this week, Mayor Adler extended the shelter in place order for Austin until August 15th. It was set to expire on June 15th.
Texas overall has seen a huge increase in COVID-19 cases since the reopening of the Texas economy.
On April 27th, when Gov. Abbott announced plans to reopen the Texas economy. Texas had 25,297 cases of people testing positive for COVID-19 and 663 deaths. On Wednesday, Texas has 96,335 cases of people testing positive for COVID-19 and 2,062 deaths. Texas estimates 62,368 people have recovered.
The U.S. has nearly 2.2 million cases of people with COVID-19 resulting in 117,717 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University which has been tracking the disease. Worldwide there have been 8.3 million cases resulting in 448,958 deaths.