{"id":54644,"date":"2021-03-03T07:07:59","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T11:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=54644"},"modified":"2021-03-03T07:30:15","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T11:30:15","slug":"texas-judge-rescinds-mask-mandate-governor-ends-statewide-order-next-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=54644","title":{"rendered":"Texas Judge Rescinds Mask Mandate, Governor Ends Statewide Order Next Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Tarrant County ends its mask mandate after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says statewide order will end next week<\/span><\/h1>\n

Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said he had hoped the governor would wait to rescind any COVID-19 orders until after spring break.<\/h2>\n<\/hgroup>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Vehicles line up Tuesday at the new drive-through COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.(Vernon Bryant \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p><\/div>\n

By\u00a0Brayden Garcia<\/a>
\nThe Dallas Morning News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Updated at 5:55 p.m.\u00a0<\/b><\/i>with comment from Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.<\/i><\/p>\n

Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said he is removing the county\u2019s mask mandate after\u00a0Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s announcement Tuesday that the statewide order would end next week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Whitley said that he made the decision to rescind the county\u2019s order immediately to avoid confusion, but that he had hoped the governor would wait until after spring break.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand why if he\u2019s announcing it today, why\u2019s he waiting until next Wednesday to rescind it,\u201d Whitley said. \u201cSo we\u2019re going to go ahead and rescind as of today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mask order has been in effect statewide since July, with local officials responsible for enforcement and penalties for not following it.<\/p>\n

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