Gov. Greg Abbott Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 29, which bars local governments from requiring COVID-related masks, vaccines or business shutdowns. Credit: Instagram / governorabbott

Despite a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday tweeted “there will be no mask mandates in Texas” — a statement that met with mixed fanfare.

Abbott’s post on X, formerly known as Twitter, comes as some institutions nationwide reinstate COVID-era mask mandates due to a summer surge.

Hollywood studio Lionsgate and healthcare company Kaiser Permanente reinstated some mask mandates for employees this week, according to an article in The Hill retweeted by Abbott. Colleges including Rutgers University in New Jersey and Morris Brown College in Georgia also reinstated mask mandates for two weeks as a precaution.

Closer to home, Karnes County’s Runge ISD, located about 70 miles south of San Antonio, canceled classes for the remainder of the week due to a slew of COVID-19 cases among students.

“Thank you, Gov. Greg Abbott sir, this affirms our decision to flee Seattle last year for the great state of Texas,” X user @donweidner commented on Abbott’s post.

However, not all X users were as enthusiastic about Abbott’s blanket statement on banning mask mandates.

“You already have two schools that had to shut down because of a COVID outbreak,” @soapmaker10 chimed in. “Should be a great school year.”

Despite COVID-19 cases rising 142% in Bexar County since June 27, there have only been six coronavirus-related hospitalizations in San Antonio during that same time, according to data from Metro Health.

University Health infectious disease expert Dr. Jason Bowling this week told the Current that the risk for severe infection remains low due to people having some degree of immunity, whether from vaccinations, previous infections or both.

Even so, Bowling said those who are immunocompromised or 65 or older should make their own decisions whether it makes sense for them to mask in public.

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This article appears in Aug 23 – Sep 5, 2023.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...