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In a statewide press conference on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said that Texas would end the statewide mask mandate and "open Texas 100%."
Effective Wednesday, March 10, Abbott's newest executive order will rescind statewide COVID-19 restrictions, including limiting business capacity and requiring customers to wear masks in businesses. The order will also ensure that any business can now operate at full capacity.
"It is clear from the recoveries, vaccinations ... that state mandates are no longer needed," Abbott said at the press conference. "Every business that wants to be open, should be open."
Abbott cited lowering case rates, better protections against the virus and record-high vaccine shipments as motivations for lifting the mandate.
Although the state will not mandate masks or limit business capacity, if a county's COVID hospital capacity reaches above 15% for seven straight days, then county judges may use mitigation strategies. Abbott said that he does not believe this will occur and that no punishments can be enforced if residents choose not to follow the mandates.
"Under no circumstance can a county judge put anybody in jail for not following COVID orders, and no penalties can be imposed for failing to wear a face mask," Abbott said. "More importantly, we believe there will not be the threshold met for hospitalizations for county judges to even consider implementing those strategies because Texas will continue to work collaboratively with all counties to speed the vaccination process."
According to Abbott, Texas has now administered 5.7 million vaccine shots and are now administering about 1 million vaccines a week. Abbott also said the COVID-19 positivity rate is the lowest on Tuesday than it has been in four months.
Abbott said that 50% of Texas' seniors are projected to be vaccinated by Wednesday, March 10, while all seniors should be able to get a vaccine if they choose by the end of March. Some medical experts have predicted that every Texan who wants a vaccine may be able to get one in a few months.
While restrictions are lifted, Abbott said that Texans need to continue to be vigilant and follow their own personal safety protocol to keep themselves and their neighbors safe.
"Removing state mandates does not end personal responsibility," Abbott said. "To stay safe, Texans should continue to follow medical advice on preventing COVID just as they do on other medical issues. At this time, people and businesses don't need the state telling them how to operate."
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- Austin to keep mask mandate under health authority Mark Escott - austonia ›
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Popular
(Moriah Wilson/Instagram)
Austin police are investigating the killing of Moriah "Mo" Wilson after she was found with gunshot wounds inside an Austin home.
Wilson, a gravel and mountain bike racer, was visiting Austin from Colorado in preparation for the Gravel Locos race on Saturday taking place in Hico, a small town 2 hours from Austin.
On Wednesday, her roommate came home and found Wilson unresponsive with "a lot of blood near her,” police said. It is now being investigated as a suspicious death. No further information on the suspect or motive behind the killing are available at this time.
Wilson recently had become a full-time biker after winning a slew of races in the past year.
(Pexels)
Some of your favorite Instagram filters can’t be used in Texas anymore and Austinites are sounding off on social media.
Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, announced on Wednesday that certain filters would no longer be available in Texas.
The change is a result of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company uses facial recognition technology that violates laws in Texas. A release from Meta says it stopped using facial recognition tech in November 2021 and denies Paxton’s allegations.
Some Austinites bemoaned the shift, saying some of their favorite filters were now unavailable.
This was my FAVORITE filter on @instagram and they done removed it cause I’m in Texas ! Like wowwwwww pic.twitter.com/uX60hdIC0Q
— Pinkyy Montana (@inkstar_pinkyy) May 11, 2022
i heard that instagram filters got banned in texas? what the actual fuck y’all better give me my favorite filter back
— lia 🤍 (@liatootrill) May 11, 2022
loved this stupid filter sm i hate texas pic.twitter.com/DXr9mmUc64
— birthday boy jeno 🎂 (@beabtox) May 12, 2022
But more often than not, locals joked about the ban.
Texas women seeing the filter ban on IG pic.twitter.com/yDMcP3Qtsr
— Christian (Anabolic) Flores (@christian_flo24) May 11, 2022
So, the state of Texas has banned filter use on IG? THE END IS NEAR. 😂
— THE FRANCHISE! Франшиза (@NYCFranchise718) May 12, 2022
And some in-between chose to show off some natural beauty.
I live in Texas, but no filter needed. 😉 pic.twitter.com/A6teRgYMKn
— bad and bruja (@starseedmami) May 11, 2022
filter, no filter..texas women still reign supreme.
— 🎍 (@_sixile) May 11, 2022
Finally, some are trying to cash in on the opportunity.
Texas IG users- if you want to filter your picture cashapp me $1.50 $ErvnYng
— Gemini (@ervn_y) May 11, 2022
Meta said it plans to create an opt-in system for both Texas and Illinois residents, who are facing the same issues.