Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. said he would have preferred for Gov. Greg Abbott to have waited another 60 to 90 days to lift the face mask mandate in Texas.
On Friday, Trevino said the additional time would have given county officials time to vaccinate more area residents and get past Spring Break and Easter holidays, which annually attract thousands of visitors to South Padre Island.
“I believe the mask mandate should only be lifted when a COVID-19 vaccine is available to everyone,” Trevino said. “Our numbers in Cameron County continue to be steady, and we might have seen a decline in cases last week because of the Winter Weather Storm, but we felt that with the social distancing and facemask recovering requirements, our vaccination efforts were leading us in the right direction as far as slowing the risk of the spread of the virus.”
The county judge is urging residents and businesses to continue with social distancing guidelines and use face masks even after the mandates are lifted.
“I’d hate to see another virus surge that comes along with hospitalizations and deaths due to a premature lifting of the protections that work, such as mask coverings.”
On Monday, Abbott announced he is lifting the mask mandate, making Texas the largest state to no longer require one of the most effective ways to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
His decision has drawn national attention, with Abbott being widely criticized by doctors, business owners, big city leaders and even President Joe Biden, who called the move “a big mistake.” All of them fear lifting the mandate will create an increase in COVID cases and deaths. Already more than 43,000 Texans have died from the coronavirus.
The governor said he initially planned his announcement for mid February, but it was delayed because vaccine shipments could not reach the state during the weather and power crisis.
Beginning Wednesday masks in public places will be optional and restaurants will be able to seat diners at their full capacity.
