In win for San Antonio and Bexar County, judge temporarily overrides Texas governor's ban on mask mandates

Greg Abbott
(Image credit: Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)

Officials in San Antonio and Bexar County can temporarily issue mask mandates, despite Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) order prohibiting local governments and school districts in the state from requiring masks, Judge Antonia Arteaga ruled on Tuesday.

San Antonio and Bexar County filed a lawsuit on Tuesday morning requesting a temporary restraining order blocking Abbott's action, with officials wanting to make masks mandatory inside public schools and municipal buildings. Arteaga said she did not take her decision lightly, The Texas Tribune reports, citing the school year starting and public guidance from Dr. Junda Woo, health director of San Antonio's Metropolitan Health District, who said masks are necessary in schools as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads in the state.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.