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Top Texas Health Official, State Nurses Weigh In On Rescinding Mask Mandate

Courtesy: Chuck Smith / Red River Radio News

TX HEALTH OFFICIALS ON GOV MASK ORDER- A top Texas health official is defending Governor Greg Abbott's decision to lift the statewide mask mandate but underscores the importance of face coverings to reduce spreading COVID-19. Doctor John  Hellerstedt  heads the Department of State Health Services. He told state lawmakers during a hearing this week that he and Abbott are on the same page.         

"So I know the Governor took the steps that he did not to in anyway diminish the use of masks but rather to say that the government itself would play a different role in terms of whether or not it would be against his executive orders."                    

"Nurses are concerned about lifting restrictions too soon," Cindy Zolnierek, CEO for the Texas Nurses Association

Lawmakers said they're still concerned  the  policy  change will confuse the public.   And healthcare  professionals are still in favor of wearing protective masks in public. The Texas Nurses Association is urging people to continue wearing masks even after the Governor’s statewide mandate expires next week.   

Credit Courtesy: Texas Nurses Association
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Courtesy: Texas Nurses Association

"Nurses are concerned about lifting restrictions too soon,” explained Cindy Zolnierek, CEO for the Texas Nurses Association. 

Zolnierek adds nurses are fatigued a year into the pandemic.  Over 56-hundred people in Texas are hospitalized for COVID-19, and more than 44,000 Texans have died from the disease.

Chuck Smith brings more than 30 years' broadcast and media experience to Red River Radio. He began his career as a radio news reporter and transitioned to television journalism and newsmagazine production. Chuck studied mass communications at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia and motion picture / television production at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has also taught writing for television at York Technical College in Rock Hill, South Carolina and video / film production at Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport.