Dallas County commissioners voted Friday to mandate that businesses require customers and everyone on the premises to wear a mask to contain the spread of COVID-19 as cases continue climbing.
Commissioners voted 3-2 to pass the order — which goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. tonight — after a fiery debate. The order follows similar rules put in place in other parts of the state earlier this week. Four of Texas’ largest eight counties have now put masking orders in place on businesses.
Commissioners Elba Garcia and Theresa Daniel voted in favor along with Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. Commissioners J.J. Koch and John Wiley Price voted against it because of concerns around enforcement.
Businesses that don’t comply can face a fine of up to $500 per violation, though law enforcement will not be involved.
The order, which makes an exception for eating, mandates that employees or visitors to a business who are within 6 feet of another person, and where separation is not possible, wear a mask.
Masks do not need to be worn when exercising outside or someone must be screened, like at a bank, or if they adversely impact a person’s health.
“In talking to the healthcare community, they’re telling us that this is the most important thing we can do to save lives, arrest the spread and help keep businesses open,” Jenkins said during the meeting, defending the new order.
Price and Koch raised concerns about how businesses owned by people of color might be disproportionately affected, and how the order would be enforced.
Businesses can already require that customers wear masks and deny people service on those grounds, Price said.
“They can do that. Why do they need us?” Price asked during the meeting.
Koch said he was disappointed by the vote given the national conversation around policing that has taken place locally and across the country. He added that the county was adding a punishment at a time when the government needs to reduce unnecessary interactions with law enforcement.
“This is a plain example of moving away from that prioritization,” Koch said. “I can hope that we’re not going to have disproportionate enforcement and hope that we don’t have negative interactions between residents and peace officers.”
Beyond that, he said that the county should instead be focused on messaging and education to reduce the spread of COVID-19, particularly among the Hispanic community. Hispanics have the highest confirmed positive COVID-19 rates in the county, according to data provided by the county.
The order comes on the heels of spikes across the county and the state of positive cases of COVID-19, including a record 413 confirmed cases in Dallas County on Wednesday. That same day, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff enacted an order to require masks in businesses.
Gov. Greg Abbott did not object to Bexar County’s new rule, telling KWTX anchor Pete Souza on Wednesday: “Just like they can require people to wear shoes and shirts, these businesses can require people to wear face masks if they come into their businesses. Now, local officials are just now realizing that that was authorized.”
Travis County and El Paso County enacted similar orders Thursday, while the Houston Chronicle reported that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo would issue a similar order Friday.
Mayors Betsy Price of Fort Worth and Jeff Williams of Arlington, however, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram earlier this week that they didn’t plan to require businesses to order the wearing of masks.
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