Two Texas judges issue temporary restraining orders against governor’s mask warrant order

The temporary restraining order is in effect until Aug. 24, when a hearing for a temporary injunction is scheduled, according to court documents.

Following Arteaga’s decision, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff announced a public health directive for the next school year that requires masks indoors for all public schools in the county.

The requirement applies to all students aged 2 and over, teachers, staff and visitors, regardless of their immunization status. Schools are also required to contact parents or guardians if they learn that a student was in close contact, as defined by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “with a person positive for COVID-19 on campus or at a school-related event, ”San Antonio metro health director Claude Jacob said at Tuesday’s press conference.

Unvaccinated people who are found to have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 will also need to be quarantined for two weeks, under the order, as well as stay off campus and not attend any school-related events, Jacob added.

“The order has been approved by a judge that we can do it, so this is a binding order, not a ‘we hope you will.’ If you’ve listened carefully to Mr. Jacob, it It was “shall” and not “may.” “I will have to do it,” said Wolff, the county judge.

Arteaga will issue a ruling Monday on whether to issue an injunction against the governor’s order, which Abbott could appeal to the state’s Supreme Court.

“I congratulate everyone – the school principals and elected judges who take whatever steps are necessary to protect the lives of the people they serve,” Hidalgo wrote. “Protecting the community in an emergency is a duty, not an option for government leaders.”

The Harris County decisions and announcement are the latest in a series of disputes across the state – and the country – over mask mandates as schools prepare to reopen and many students remain ineligible for a Covid-19 shot. Children under 12 are not yet allowed to be vaccinated in the United States.

The Austin School District will ignore the governor’s order as the Austin School Board of Directors announced that effective Wednesday, all individuals and visitors will be required to wear masks on all the properties of the district.

In a statement released Tuesday – ahead of judges’ decisions to grant restraining orders – the governor’s office said: “We are all working to protect Texas children and the most vulnerable among us, but by violating the executive orders. governor – and violating parental rights – is not the right way to do it. “

“Gov. Abbott has made it clear that the time for mask terms is over; the time has come for personal accountability,” Abbott’s press secretary Renae Eze told CNN in an email Tuesday. “Parents and guardians have the right to decide whether their child will wear a mask or not, just like any other decision in their child’s life.”

The governor’s office said on Monday that the state’s Board of Education may decide to withhold salaries from superintendents and school board members who violate the decree.

School board president Rosalind Osgood said on Tuesday she was unwilling to “risk playing Russian roulette” with students who cannot get vaccinated.

“You cannot ignore this pandemic,” Osgood said. “It’s deadly, and it gets worse instead of getting better and the more you don’t use masks, the more you position the mutation in this virus to develop.”