In a move that will undoubtedly please many Texans, Governor Greg Abbott announced that his state would be ending its statewide mask mandate next week. He also called for Texas to “be open 100 percent.”

“Everybody that wants a job should be able to get a job. Every business that wants to be open should be open,” Breitbart reports that Abbott said during a meeting at the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce yesterday.

“With the medical advancements of vaccines and antibody therapeutic drugs, Texas now has the tools to protect Texans from the virus,” Abbott said. “We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent. Make no mistake, COVID-19 has not disappeared, but it is clear from the recoveries, vaccinations, reduced hospitalizations, and safe practices that Texans are using that state mandates are no longer needed.”

The Governor said by next week, Texans will have received approximately 7 million shots of the COVID vaccine and that over half of seniors in the state will have received a shot. 

“By the end of March, he said, “every senior who wants a vaccine should be able to get one. The vaccine supply continues to increase so rapidly that more and more Texans will soon be eligible to receive a vaccine.”

Abbott is also leaving it up to local officials as to how they’d like to handle if a county encounters a spike in COVID cases. The governor said they can increase some restrictions, however, there would be no fines or criminal penalties for failure to comply with the rules.

For the full report, click HERE.