The Texas governor can ban mask mandates, at least for now, after the State Supreme Court on Sunday granted the state’s request for an emergency stay of an appellate court ruling that would have allowed mandatory face coverings in schools. The decision is temporary because the State Supreme Court, whose justices are elected and are currently all Republicans, must make a final ruling. Late on Friday, after Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban suffered at least three legal setbacks, the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, said he was asking the State Supreme Court to consider Mr. Abbott’s policies. The escalating battle comes as schools around the country open or prepare to, with tens of millions of children under 12 ineligible for vaccination, and as hospitalizations of young people have been increasing amid the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

Source: International New York Times August 15, 2021 23:40 UTC