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Round Rock businesses split on mask mandate ending
Round Rock’s city mask mandate will be lifted by the end of the month, but some local businesses say they will continue to enforce it.
ROUND ROCK, Texas - ‘No shirt. No shoes. No masks. No service.’ That sign is posted on the front of a local coffee shop reminding people to wear a mask. Round Rock’s city mask mandate will be lifted by the end of the month, but some local businesses say they will continue to enforce it.
"I think we were headed in a good direction," said Craig Morgan, Mayor of Round Rock.
When the clock strikes midnight on April 22nd, the City of Round Rock’s mask mandate will be lifted.
"Increased vaccinations going up, hospitalizations going down, and new cases and positivity rate are all headed in the right direction. Now, everybody has the tools that they need. And they can use however they choose," said Mayor Morgan.
Mayor Morgan says about 20% of Williamson County is fully vaccinated, and that number only continues to climb higher. He says businesses will have full control over whether or not they continue to enforce mask-wearing inside.
Star Coffee located in Downtown Round Rock has several signs posted on its front door reminding customers to put on their masks. Owner Shawn Faulk says he does not plan on taking those down anytime soon. "I think it's important just for our employee safety and customer safety for right now. Probably closer to maybe mid-June we'll probably lift our mask mandate once we feel more a percentage of the community is vaccinated."
Round Rock City council unanimously voted to lift the mask mandate Friday. That same day AG Ken Paxton tweeted, "After I directed the City of Round Rock to lift their mask mandate the city council complied unlike the City of Austin."
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Mayor Morgan fired back in a responding tweet. "We didn't count down to any threats. We made the decision based on like I said, vaccinations increase in cases going down hospitalizations going down. The AG needs to stay in local politics and let us handle it."