Under pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott, Austin and Travis County public health leaders on Friday chose to end the local mask mandate, thus avoiding a potential courtroom conflict with the governor over pandemic policy.
Dr. Mark Escott, whose tenure as interim Austin-Travis County health authority began only months before the coronavirus pandemic gripped Central Texas, announced in one of his last public briefings on the virus that businesses would no longer be required to make sure partially vaccinated or unvaccinated customers wear masks.
"Now is not the time for us to be in conflict, now is the time for us to focus on the message," said Escott, who is stepping away from his role as county health authority at the end of the month. "And the message is that unvaccinated people or partially vaccinated people need to wear a mask when they're out in public."