The dilemma was abruptly thrown at them after Governor Greg Abbott announced Wednesday afternoon that the state would withdraw its mask mandate and allow all companies to operate at 100% capacity as of March 10.
Some companies have barely had the opportunity to reopen after last month’s deadly winter storm and power outage crisis before hearing about this major change in the state’s COVID-19 security protocols.
“I think we are likely to lose guests based on whatever decision we make, but I think this is just part of the environment we live in now,” said Jessica Johnson, general manager of Sichuan House in San Antonio. “Either you wear masks and irritate some people, or you don’t wear masks and irritate some people.”
At least one businessman, Macy Moore of HopFusion Ale Works in Fort Worth, said on Wednesday on CNN that he had not slept since Abbott’s announcement because he is very concerned about the health and safety of his team. Others, like Anne Ng of Bakery Lorraine in San Antonio, have decided to maintain mask requirements for employees and customers, regardless of what Abbott and the state government say.
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“By revoking the mandate, the government is putting everyone at risk and food workers are unfortunately at the forefront in facing the potential hostility of people who will refuse to respect our mask policy,” said Ng. “We don’t deserve this.”
Meanwhile, Congressman Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, introduced legislation last week that would prevent any business entity from being held responsible for exposing people to pandemic diseases. This provision in House Bill 3 is one of Abbott’s top priorities for this year’s legislative session. The governor joined Burrows in Lubbock on Tuesday in announcing plans to rescind many restrictions on the coronavirus against the advice of local and federal health officials.
Health experts are still asking Texans to continue wearing masks as new and more contagious variants of the virus emerge. Hospitalizations continue to decline after the January record, but the state still averages more than 200 deaths per day.
As the state mask’s mandate will officially end next week, the state’s mask requirements now largely come down to decisions made by Texas companies. Many resorted to social media to announce their intentions to continue to demand masks, while others said they feel powerless to enforce a rule without state protection or support.
Christine Ha, a partner and executive co-chef at Xin Chao in Houston, sent a warning to the entire team on Wednesday afternoon that the restaurant would continue to require masks and operate at reduced capacity. She expressed concern about the application of these policies, however, because local agencies and law enforcement authorities no longer need to support her restaurant’s security requirements.
“This leaves my team to enforce these policies, and they are in the hospitality business, not policing,” said Ha.
Still, other business owners emphasized that all they can do now is to try to maintain the health and safety of both themselves and their employees. In a pandemic world filled with so many unknowns, many are choosing to focus on what they can control.
Kristina Zhao, the owner of Sichuan House in San Antonio, said that most of her clients have remained loyal and supportive over the past year, and deciding to stick to a masked mandate would not stop that incentive.
“From my point of view, I can’t really worry about upsetting people because we are trying to make a decision that is better for our team and for the long-term sustainability of our business,” said Zhao.
Zhao also questioned whether Abbott’s announcement would really change the current dynamic in Texas. Many supermarkets and other businesses across the state have faced frequent confrontations with customers who have refused to wear masks, and anyone who wants to dine indoors has already had the opportunity to do so, albeit with a mask when they are not seated and with reduced capacity.
Still, some companies have already reported reactions from social media users about their decision to maintain the mask requirement, despite the change of governor yesterday. Jennifer Dobbertin, who runs a restaurant called Best Quality Daughter in San Antonio, said that an “anti-masked crowd” has already established itself in the restaurant’s comments on social media.
“If you don’t want to wear a mask, fine, we can respect that,” said Dobbertin. “Please do not come to eat at our establishments, but do not come to the restaurant and try to fight with us about it.”
On Tuesday, HEB announced that customers would no longer have to wear a mask as of March 10, according to Abbott’s request, although the chain encourages them to do so still. But days later, HEB issued a statement that said, “The use of the mask in our stores will remain.” Kroger will still require all employees and customers to wear masks until all workers in the market have access to the COVID-19 vaccine, according to corporate affairs manager April Martin.
Most low-income workers in Texas, who are often people of color, did not have the opportunity to work from home during the pandemic. Frontline workers in sectors such as health, construction and cleaning services, social services, public transport, grocery and delivery and warehouse work are predominantly women and people of color.
Black Texans were disproportionately killed by the virus and affected by the recession that accompanied it over the past year. Supporters reported that these communities were also left behind in vaccination efforts. And black and Hispanic Texans are far more concerned with the coronavirus than white Texans, according to a Texas Tribune-University of Texas survey released this week.
Ha, from Xin Chao, from Houston, said that keeping the practices safer and healthier is certainly worth the small price of harming some customers.
“There are many people who prefer restaurants to continue to follow COVID’s security protocols, and those people will be more likely to frequent and support restaurants like ours,” said Ha. “So, we lost some, we will win others. It’s fine with me.”
The video above is from an earlier story.
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