Tarrant County ends mask mandate, effective immediately, following Gov. Abbott’s order

Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley has removed the county’s mask mandate just after Gov. Greg Abbott announced he would remove his statewide mask order.

Abbott’s order will end March 10, but to avoid confusion and misunderstandings, Whitley ended his order on Tuesday.

“If he’s going to lift the mask mandate, why did he wait until next Wednesday?” Whitley said. “What’s going to happen between now and next Wednesday except that people are going to be mad?”

The judge said he would’ve liked to see the statewide mandate be lifted after spring break when officials expect another possible surge of coronavirus cases.

“The governor’s the governor, and he has the right to do whatever he wants to do,” Whitley said.

Whitley also doesn’t want to get into a battle with the state if he were to take a contrary stance.

“In the past, when the governor has pulled orders down and prevented local folks from putting out anything else back in place,” he said.