August 17, 2021 Governor Greg Abbott Office of the Governor P.O. Box 12428 Austin, Texas 78711 Dear Governor Abbott: The Center for Inquiry (CFI) writes to you today to express our dismay over your executive order1 prohibiting Texas state agencies, local governments, and school districts from utilizing mask mandates and other measures to fight the continuing COVID-19 crisis in your state. At a time when the COVID-19 virus, including specifically the Delta variant, is devastating the state of Texas, your constituents need strong, decisive leadership backed by science and public health guidance. As you are undoubtedly aware, hospitals in Texas are simply overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients at the moment.2 Over the long siege of this pandemic, we have learned how to stop the spread of this deadly virus, and that is through instituting mask mandates, COVID-19 testing, vaccination requirements, and other measures in localities where the virus is aggressively circulating. That is why local officials and school district leaders must be allowed to act. CFI urges you to reverse course before many more lives are lost or adversely affected. Local outcry against your actions has been loud and clear. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, for instance, has declared: “The governor has shown a callous disregard for life and safety in defiance of clear medical guidance and is risking the safety of our children and the recovery of our economy.”3 Why would you put your fellow Texans’ health and economic prosperity at risk? You were quoted in the New York Times, saying that the answer to the COVID-19 crisis lies with “personal responsibility, not government mandates.” This perception completely fails to understand and appreciate the magnitude of the public health disaster currently facing 1 https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/EO-GA-38_continued_response_to_the_COVID- 19_disaster_IMAGE_07-29-2021.pdf 2 See, e.g., https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/11/us/covid-texas-hospitalizations-icu.html 3 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/us/texas-mask-mandate-abbott.html CFI Executive Offices ! 1012, 14th St N.W. Suite 205 ! Washington, D.C. 20005 your state. Indeed, a University of Texas at Austin COVID-19 model projects that cases of hospitalizations related to the virus will be greater than 15,000 by the end of August.4 Adopting reasonable public health requirements should not be partisan. All Texans—no matter their political affiliation—are susceptible to COVID-19, and they are all responsible to help contain its spread. CFI suggests that you consider what other leaders and officials are doing across the country to help their constituents. For instance, Governor Kate Brown of Oregon recently announced that her state will be restoring a statewide mask mandate, requiring both vaccinated and unvaccinated persons to use face coverings while gathering indoors.5 California, meanwhile, became the first state to require teachers to be vaccinated or tested regularly.6 Similarly, Virginia is requiring all students, teachers, and staff to wear masks indoors, even if they have been vaccinated.7 In Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear’s executive order mandates that in public as well as private schools, all individuals (students, teachers, staff, and visitors) wear masks when indoors, regardless of vaccination status.8 Of course, as you well know, both Dallas County and Bexar County have challenged your executive order,9 resulting in temporary restraining orders being issued by lower courts in both cases.10 While the Texas Supreme Court has temporarily blocked mask mandates,11 it is all but assured that this legal battle will continue. Indeed, Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa is already on the record as stating, “We’re going to keep the mask mandate in place.”12 A public health emergency of this magnitude should be bringing leaders together. Rather than court battles, we urge you to follow the science and rescind your executive order. The health and lives of Texans, especially of children too young to be vaccinated, depend upon it. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, 4 https://covid-19.tacc.utexas.edu 5 https://www.oregon.gov/newsroom/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?newsid=64241 6 https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-governors-ban-mask-mandates-dealt-second-legal-blow-2021- 08-11 7 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/virginia-schools-mask-mandate- covid/2021/08/12/b4135ddc-fb7e-11eb-9c0e-97e29906a970_story.html 8 https://governor.ky.gov/attachments/20210810_Executive-Order_2021-585_Schools-Childcare.pdf 9 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/us/dallas-school-masks-abbott.html 10 https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/10/texas-mask-mandate 11 https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/16/us/texas-supreme-court-block-mask-mandates-greg- abbott/index.html 12 Id. CFI Executive Offices ! 1012, 14th St N.W. Suite 205 ! Washington, D.C. 20005 Azhar Majeed Director of Government Affairs Center for Inquiry CFI Executive Offices ! 1012, 14th St N.W. Suite 205 ! Washington, D.C. 20005 .