Texas Governor Abbott issues executive order blocking cities from requiring masks and vaccines

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott has issued an executive order that prohibits cities and other local governments in the state from enacting mask mandates or virus requirements.

"The new Executive Order emphasizes that the path forward relies on personal responsibility rather than government mandates," Abbott said Thursday upon signing the order, according to SF Gate. "Texans ... have the individual right and responsibility to decide for themselves and their children whether they will wear masks, open their businesses, and engage in leisure activities."

The order follows multiple mask mandates being were reinstated earlier this week, in  such places as Los Angeles, St. Louis, and the U.S. House of Representatives.

The governor added that vaccines are still the most effective tool in the fight against COVID-19 but said that people should individually choose to wear a mask or take the vaccine.