HARLINGEN — In front of his restaurant, Jose Silva is putting a man at the door to let his customers know he’s still making sure they wear facial coverings before walking into the Golden Corral Buffet & Grill.
After nearly a year, Gov. Greg Abbott today scraped a state order requiring residents wear masks while allowing businesses to open at 100-percent capacity as part of his plan to reopen the state’s economy.
“Individuals are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings over the nose and mouth wherever it is not feasible to maintain six feet of social distancing from another person not in the same household but no person may be required by any jurisdiction to wear or to mandate the wearing of a face covering,” the order states.
But if the region’s hospitalizations climb over 15 percent, county officials can tighten restrictions.
In early January, Cameron County’s hospitalizations jumped over 15 percent as daily COVID-19 cases soared over the 300-mark.
On Monday, the county reported 129 new cases while its total case count rose to 37,741.
Local businesses masking up
Across the area, businesses like Silva’s restaurant are following their customers’ call for safeguards they’ve counted on to protect them against COVID-19, snubbing Abbott’s push to shake off the economy’s shackling restrictions.
“Starting now, for a few days, we’re going to have a person at the door to make sure everyone’s wearing a mask,” Silva said Tuesday. “It’s to protect our guests.”
Across Texas, Abbott’s order strips away penalties imposed on those who refused to wear facial coverings or violated other parts of the politically charged mandate.
Now, it’s up to businesses to enforce federal guidelines aimed at curbing the virus’ spread.
“No other entities can create enforceable orders to penalize those who enter buildings without masks,” Josh Ramirez, the city’s public health director, said, referring to federal guidelines including social distancing.
“The business can require a mask, and if a person refuses, the business can refuse service to the customer,” he said. “If the customer refuses to leave, the business can call the police to ask the customer be removed.”
Customers call on businesses to follow CDC guidelines
At Golden Corral, Silva said his customers want to know what steps he’s taking following Abbott’s order.
“We have been getting quite a lot of phone calls, mostly from regular customers — mostly elderly — asking what are we going to do,” he said.
If more Texans were vaccinated against the coronavirus, he said he’d ease up on restrictions.
But now, about 10 percent of Texans are fully vaccinated, Ramirez said.
“If the state of Texas was 85 to 90 percent vaccinated, there should be some reduction,” Silva said, referring to restrictions aimed at curbing the virus’ spread. “But I think it’s too soon. Our volume is not the same as it was last year but we’re grateful to still be in business.”
Like Silva, Joe Ayala is sticking by the federal guidelines most of his customers have come to count on at his popular Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant.
“I’m going to keep it the way it is — everybody has to wear the mask, social distancing,” Manager Mike Herrera said amid his bustling lunch crowd. “If you go to 100 percent — I don’t want problems. We’re just trying to keep it safe.”
H-E-B deals with politically charged order
At H-E-B, the Texas supermarket giant is also still requiring customers wear facial coverings while following federal safety guidelines.
“While statewide policy has changed, our store protocol has not,” the company stated in a press release.
“Mask use at our stores will remain. We will continue to expect shoppers to wear masks while in our stores. Additionally, we will still require all our partners and vendors to wear masks while at work.”
Meanwhile, the grocery store chain is calling for “kindness and understanding” in dealing with the politically charged order.
“The ending of mask ordinances puts real pressure on retailers to enforce an emotional topic for many,” the press release states. “We ask for kindness and understanding from our customers in our expectation of them to wear masks in our stores.”
Harlingen City Hall sticks by masks
In Harlingen, Mayor Chris Boswell said he’s urging residents to continue wearing facial coverings while following federal guidelines aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
“Our medical professionals are imploring us to continue to wear masks,” he said. “Businesses have the right to require face coverings on their property, and if that’s what a business wants to do to protect customers, we have to follow the rules.”
“Obviously we want the businesses to be able to operate at full capacity,” Boswell said, adding, “I think we need to continue for some short period of time the best practices until more people are vaccinated.”
At City Hall, City Manager Dan Serna said he wants to protect residents and staff.
“Our employees and our visitors are very important to us and we want to make sure that we provide the most protection possible while in our facilities so we will continue this practice for their safety and we appreciate everyone’s cooperation as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.”
County recommends facial coverings
At Cameron County offices, Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. argued Abbott’s order defies “scientific principle.”
“The overwhelming consensus of local, state and national health professionals is that the lifting on the statewide mandate and limitation on local orders is premature and contrary to sound scientific principle,” he stated in a press release.
“I believe the mask mandate should only be lifted when a COVID-19 vaccine is available to everyone,” he stated. “I strongly urge and recommend that all Cameron County residents continue to abide by the social distancing guidelines, continue using face coverings or masks, hand wash regularly and practice good hygiene etiquette.”
Late Tuesday afternoon, Treviño issued an “emergency management order” recommending residents wear facial coverings.
“In Cameron County, all people 10 years old or older should continue to utilize a facial covering when in a public place or working in areas that involve close proximity, every business may operate at 100-percent capacity, all county employees must continue to utilize a facial covering at all times during working hours and all members of the public doing business in Cameron County buildings and facilities must continue to utilize a facial covering while indoors.”
