TYLER, Texas — On March 2, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Executive Order GA-34 lifting the mask mandate in the state of Texas and increasing the capacity of all businesses and facilities in the state to 100%.
You should know that the mask mandate being lifted doesn’t apply to all businesses. Those that are privately owned or operating under federal orders may still require you to mask up. Here are just a few:
Airports:
Adriana Hernandez with the City of Tyler says that airports including Tyler Pounds Regional are under federal orders to require masks. This also applies to other public transportation like busses and ride-shares.
Hospitals:
UT-Health and Christus Health plan to continue requiring everyone in their facilities to wear a mask. NET Health requires employees and strongly encourages patients to wear a mask at their vaccination clinics.
City-Owned Buildings:
Places like City Hall will not require masks, but will strongly encourage them. As for county property like the Smith County Jail, they’re not quite sure how they’ll handle this just yet.
Sergeant Larry Christian with Smith County Sheriff's Office said, “At this point, we're gonna have to, you know, step back, evaluate the situation and make some determinations of what we're going to do next week.”
Many businesses in East Texas are still figuring out how to adjust. Texas is not the first state to ease COVID restrictions. See where other states stand here.
