Houston To Issue $250 Fines For Mask Violations

TOPLINE

Houstonians who fail to wear a mask could be hit with a $250 fine, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday, as part of increased enforcement of Texas’ public mask-wearing mandate in the state’s hardest-hit city.

KEY FACTS

CRITICAL QUOTE

KEY BACKGROUND

Texas still continues to post some of the most sobering coronavirus statistics of any state in the U.S., but data shows the state’s crisis has improved. Hospitalizations have trended downward over much of the past two weeks, while daily new cases and the testing positivity rate have also declined from mid-July highs. Death counts, however, have increased since mid-July. In Houston, Turner said, “there are some positive signs” the city is improving, specifically noting that hospitalizations there have declined.

BIG NUMBER

28,874 active cases are estimated in Harris County, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The next highest is Dallas County, with 13,994.

FURTHER READING

Turner: Houston police to begin enforcing mask order with citations, fines (Houston Chronicle)

Texas Mandates Mask Wearing (Forbes)

Mask Complaints Pour In From New York City’s Wealthiest Neighborhoods (The Wall Street Journal)

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