Texas governor Greg Abbott tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, after weeks spent banning local mask requirements and meeting maskless crowds. Abbott, a Republican, is fully vaccinated against the virus and is not experiencing symptoms, his office said in a statement. Abbott has restricted cities, counties, school districts and public health authorities from requiring masks or Covid-19 vaccines. And when officials in Texas’s major cities defied his order, the state supreme court barred their local mask mandates – at least temporarily. The Texas Democratic party chair, Gilberto Hinojosa, said in a statement that he wished Abbott well and hoped for his speedy recovery.

Source: The Guardian August 17, 2021 22:51 UTC