Judge Lapham announced in todays Commissioners Court meeting that Austin County’s COVID-19 numbers have fallen to a level that the governor’s mask mandate will no longer apply. The exemption happens when the county COVID-19 numbers fall below 20 or less new cases in the last 14 days.
Austin County Bars are going to be allowed to start opening up again on the 14th of October at 50% according to the mandate pending paperwork from the county. Judge Lapham stated that the state is pushing a lot of this down to the county and that paperwork would be filed with the TABC in time for the bars to open.
However, if a business still felt the need to have patrons masked before entering their establishment, they still retained that right as property owners. Judge Lapham encouraged businesses to please have mask notices posted in plain view on the establishment doors if they were expecting patrons to wear masks in their establishments. The video below is of Judge Lapham explaining the mask situation for Austin County.