On March 10th, Governor Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, decided to lift the mask mandate due to reviewing data on the virus. Even though Texas lifted its mask mandate, there haven’t been a lot of states that have followed the same protocol. Some states who decided to lift the mask mandate besides Texas are Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, and North Dakota, but a couple of other states are planning to also do the same.

Governor Greg Abbott allowed businesses to open to full capacity while other businesses are against it. The Governor’s decision was mainly based on data that had been collected and observed over a period of time. While the Governor thought it was a good idea to lift the mask mandate, President Joe Biden strongly disagrees. President Biden encourages masks and when he found out Texas and other states were lifting the mask mandate he responded with “Neanderthal thinking” and that it was a “big mistake”. Dr. Fauci, Chief of the Laboratory of Immunoregulation, also doesn’t agree with states lifting the mask mandate due to the fact that states aren’t ready for such a big step. Dr. Fauci believes that with the masks being lifted there will be a rise in cases and might even cause another wave to begin. Though the Governor had lifted the mask mandate, many businesses remain to follow the mask mandate order to ensure the safety of their customers.  Some businesses will continue to follow the mask mandate; this includes Starbucks, Target, H.E.B., CVS, Sprouts, Central Market, and many more will require their employees and customers to wear masks.

The Governor is giving Texas businesses the choice of whether they want to open up to full capacity or not. It is completely up to the businesses if they decide they feel safe enough to open up to 100 percent capacity. While some businesses don’t want to open up to full capacity because they don’t want to risk their customer’s health, some find opening up the businesses to their full capacity very helpful. Some businesses are glad the Governor is allowing them to open to full capacity due to the financial struggles they faced during the pandemic.