SAN ANTONIO — Since Texas governor Greg Abbott announced the end of statewide COVID-19 restrictions, some in the community are finding ways to share with one another which businesses are going to continue following CDC guidelines voluntarily.
“I am ending the statewide mask mandate.” Governor Abbott said in announcing the end of some COVID restrictions in Lubbock yesterday.
The announcement was made to some applause, but for some business owners, like Sangria On The Burg’s Ceasar Zepeda, it’s more of a mixed bag.
“You’re never going to make everybody happy,” Zepeda said of having to decide on whether to impose his own restrictions. “Like for sure, so whatever I decide to do, there’s a percentage that’s not happy with it.
He says he’s eager to get back to serving at 100% capacity but doesn’t look forward to becoming the subject of his customers' political fights.
“I kind of liked the mandate honestly, because it was kind of out of our hands,” Zepeda said. “Now we have to make a decision.”
“This move by the Governor is 100% putting the burden -- and increasing the burden -- on businesses,” said Community Organizer Juany Torres. “This is not a pro-business move.”
While the Governor’s decision puts that kind of burden on businesses, Torres said it’s putting another burden on individuals: figuring out where they feel safe spending their money.
“Businesses and private entities still have sovereignty over their business, their location, their resources,” she said. “They can still decide for themselves whether or not they are going to continue following CDC and federal guidelines.”
She is heading a community effort to create a list of businesses that are committing to maintaining a mask mandate for their customers.
“I really appreciate how the community has stepped up," Torres said. “At the end of the day, I really think it comes down to people and neighbors doing the right thing.”
KENS 5 is compiling its own list of businesses that will still require masks, if you represent one of these businesses, comment on the post below and we'll add it to our tracker.
“I hope that we can continue to spread the love and showcase who’s being a good neighbor, who’s being a good business,” Torres said.