Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo will issue an order Friday mandating that businesses require customers to wear masks, an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, two officials with knowledge of the order said.
| Hidalgo will announce the new rules at a news conference Friday afternoon, the sources said. She and other county leaders increasingly are worried about a surge in COVID-19 cases since Memorial Day, which has resulted in seven straight days of record hospitalizations. |  |
Her order will hem closely to face-covering rules issued by Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, which are set to go into effect Monday.
Gov. Greg Abbott effectively gutted Hidalgo’s first attempt to require masks in late April, when the governor prohibited cities and counties from punishing residents for non-compliance. Hidalgo’s original order on April 22 carried a $1,000 fine, though she directed law enforcement to focus on educating residents rather than issuing citations.
 | 250Abbott’s executive orders reopening Texas beginning on May 1 left local leaders across the state with the impression that they lacked the authority to require masks. The governor surprised political observers on Wednesday when he endorsed Bexar County’s proposal, adding that cities and counties always had the ability to do so. |
Abbott’s executive orders reopening Texas beginning on May 1 left local leaders across the state with the impression that they lacked the authority to require masks. The governor surprised political observers on Wednesday when he endorsed Bexar County’s proposal, adding that cities and counties always had the ability to do so.
The crucial difference, the governor said, was that Bexar County’s order applies to businesses rather than individuals.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner was one of nine executives of Texas cities to sign a letter to Abbott on Tuesday urging the governor to order residents to wear masks, or let local leaders to do themselves. Turner said he would direct police to hand out masks instead of tickets, as they had done in April.
The mayor on Wednesday said he “certainly would entertain” requiring businesses to mandate face coverings, and said the Greater Houston Partnership backed the idea, too.
