Last week Texas businesses, schools and hospitals barely had a chance to reopen after last month’s deadly winter storm and power outage crisis before Gov. Greg Abbott announced a massive change to the state’s Covid-19 safety protocols on March 3, rescinding his original Covid-19 executive order from last year and opening up the state 100 percent by March 10.
But a cross-section of businesses and institutions responded, “Not so fast.”
Health experts are still urging Texans to keep wearing masks as new and more contagious variants of the virus emerge. Hospitalizations conWith families traveling during Spring Break that increases the chances of somebody contracting the virus. Masks will still be required of students and staff."
--Bryan White, Patton Springs ISD
tinue to decrease after January record highs, but the state is also still averaging more than 200 deaths a day.
Billie Carter, CEO of Stonewall Memorial Hospital District, which oversees the hospital in Aspermont and the clinics in Spur and Jayton, said, “We will continue to follow CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines,” which require wearing masks in public places.
Cogdell Hospital in Snyder released a Facebook statement on March 3, a few hours after Abbott’s press release.
“Most of you have probably heard or read that Gov. Abbott is lifting the mask mandate and opening up Texas. However, this will not affect any policies at Cogdell Memorial Hospital. All patients and visitors will still be required to wear a mask in our facility and the visitor policy has not changed. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“I think we should continue to mask and social distance for the time being. It’s a little quick, I think, to remove that. Things are better, but there’s still plenty of the coronavirus out there,” Scurry County’s health authority Dr. Bid Cooper told the Snyder News.
Grocery stores and other big-box retail stores were quick to join the healthcare industry in maintaining their current Covid-19 protocols.
United Supermarkets, headquartered in Lubbock with locations throughout West Texas, including Post and Snyder, plans to continue to follow cleaning protocols and to have its team members wear face coverings, and will require customers to wear masks and follow other Covid-19 safety protocols.
“Although the Texas mandate will be lifted effective March 10, 2021, our front-line team members have not had full access to the vaccine. Subsequently, our stores and facilities in Texas will continue to require masks for team members, vendors and guests, regardless of the mask mandate being lifted. We will continue to look to the CDC’s recommendations to determine our safety practices and look forward to the vaccine being readily available not only to our frontline teams, but to the general population in the coming months,” United Family manager of communications and community involvement Karen Pearce said in a statement.
James Robinson, manager of the Lawrence Brothers IGA grocery store in Spur, said, that their employees will definitely continue to wear masks. He said Lawrence Brothers, which has several locations across West Texas, was still discussing whether to require customers to wear masks.
H-E-B, Kroger, Target, Costco and Walmart are among the major retailers in Lubbock and in the case of Walmart, also in Snyder, which will continue to require employees, vendors and customers to wear masks.
Area colleges and universities such as Texas Tech University, South Plains College, Western Texas College and West Texas A&M have issued statements that they will continue with their current Covid-19 protocols, including mask wearing, through the end of the spring semester, around the first week of May.
Many area public schools will continue with their current guidelines until amendments are brought before their school boards.
The Texas Education Agency has stated that current guidelines established by the district are to stay in place unless the board of trustees passes a resolution to amend them.
On March 4, the day after Abbott’s press conference, the Texas Library Association issued the following guidance on their website and linked it to their Facebook page: “TLA calls upon all library governing bodies to follow current CDC guidelines, and maintain their successful mitigation protocols, including requiring masks in libraries.”
Dickens-Spur librarian Doniece Carruth said, “In the short-term we will be following TLA guidance and requiring masks.” Carruth said they will be having a board meeting later this month for further discussions.
Spur city secretary Barbie Norman said that the city of Spur would continue to follow CDC guidance. Currently, the city of Spur requires mask wearing and social distancing in City Hall, the Community Center, and the livestock show barn.
At area schools both the Spur ISD superintendent Craig Hamilton and the Patton Springs ISD superintendent Bryan White said that they would continue to maintain their current Covid-19 protocols and would change no policy effective March 10.
White said, "With families traveling during Spring Break that increases the chances of somebody contracting the virus. Masks will still be required of students and staff. We will continue to social distance as much as possible and we will continue with our disinfecting and sanitizing efforts."
--Bryan White, Patton Springs ISD
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