Texas Judges Temporarily Block Governor’s Ban on Mask Mandates

School children wearing masks walk outside Condit Elementary School in Bellaire, outside Houston, Texas, on Dec. 16, 2020. Francois Picard/AFP via Getty Images

Two judges in Texas on Tuesday said counties can enact mask mandates, ruling against Gov. Greg Abbott’s mask mandate ban.

State District Judge Tonya Parker, a Democrat, said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, another Democrat, is likely to prevail in his lawsuit against Abbott’s ban, and said Jenkins has the power to mandate face coverings and other strategies aimed at mitigating the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.