City leaders for both McAllen and Mission unanimously voted to continue requiring the use of masks within their respective facilities following an executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott last week that lifted a statewide mask mandate.
Finding the governor’s order confusing, McAllen Mayor Jim Darling said Monday during a city commission meeting that he had consulted with legal counsel about whether the city could enact the requirement in public buildings.
Abbott’s executive order states that in counties where there isn’t a “high” rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations, “jurisdictions” cannot require individuals to wear face coverings. The order later goes on to say, however, that “businesses or other establishments” can require employees or customers to follow hygiene measures including the use of masks.
“Sometimes we’re a jurisdiction, sometimes we’re an establishment so that caused some of the confusion,” Darling said after the commissioners meeting.
“We didn’t think there was a definitive answer but we thought maybe the intent was, hopefully, we could do our own (thing) like a business,” Darling said, “and so that’s what we decided to do with the parks and recreation facilities, library, all the public places, and hopefully people abide by it.”
In addition to the masks, city facilities will also have occupancy limits so as to abide by social distancing guidelines.
The Mission City Council also agreed to continue those requirements during a meeting Monday and will encourage that all businesses in Mission follow suit, according to Mayor Armando O’Caña.
O’Caña said through conversations with the city’s legal counsel, they concluded they could continue requiring masks within their buildings because they were still under an emergency declaration that the city first passed in March 2020.
Of Abbott’s decision to lift the statewide requirement, O’Caña said he felt it was just too early and would put his residents in jeopardy if he didn’t extend the safety protocols at the local level.
“I have lost 160 citizens of Mission since March of last year and I have over 14,000 citizens that have experienced infection of the virus,” O’Caña said. “Over 14,000 out of 85,000.”
While McAllen and Mission will definitely implement those requirements just as Abbott’s order is set to take effect on Wednesday, the city of Edinburg is expected to hold a news conference Wednesday morning on that issue.
Last week, the city released a statement saying they were reviewing the governor’s order and were “waiting for further expected guidance from the state and county.”
“ The City will continue to implement the same safety protocols it has in the past,” Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina stated in the release. “We ask that our citizens continue to practice social distancing and wear their facial coverings when attending City events.”
More details on the city’s requirements and those of the business community in Edinburg are expected to be revealed during Wednesday’s conference.
Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez issued an order Tuesday loosening COVID-19 restrictions across the county, in compliance with Abbott’s order which also reopend businesses to 100% capacity. Still, the county order “recommended and highly encouraged” that people wear masks in public, that they limit household gatherings to no more than 10 people and that businesses limite capacity enough to provide six feet of distance between employees and customers.
“I was hoping that we could keep some of these restrictions in place until after spring break because we have been headed in the right direction in limiting new cases,” Cortez stated in a news release. “But we are doing this to comply with the orders of Governor (Greg) Abbott. That’s why I continue to urge people to exercise caution, especially as we approach the Easter holiday.”While restrictions will generally be loosened across the county, the use of masks and other safety protocols will still be required within county buildings, according to county spokesman Carlos Sanchez who clarified that rescinding those precautions requires action by the county commissioners court.
The new county order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
