The city of Highland Village announced Thursday that it will continue to require masks in its buildings after Gov. Greg Abbott’s statewide mask mandate ends on Wednesday, March 10.
The city said in a news release that the Governor’s new executive order allows for the city to require employees and the public to follow additional safety measures on city property. The city will continue to follow CDC guidelines and continue to require the wearing of face coverings in all city buildings “in an effort to provide a safe environment for our employees and the public,” the city said in a news release.
The opening of city rental facilities and programming will be in a tiered approach. In the first tier, outdoor pavilion rentals will resume at 100% capacity on March 10, Senior All-Star programming will resume at 100% capacity on March 15 (with all participants required to wear a face-covering), and special event applications will no longer require the mayor’s approval.
As part of the second tier, the opening of indoor facility rentals will be evaluated on May 1, based on available case data after spring break and Easter. The city will resume special events in which guests can be physically distanced at outdoor venues, such as an Easter drive-thru event on March 27 (replacing the Easter Egg Hunt), Paper Shredding Day at Pilot Knoll Park on April 24, the Highland Village Art Festival on May 1 and Movies in the Park scheduled for May 14 and 21.
The Denton County Transportation Authority also announced Thursday that it will continue to align with the federal mask mandate that requires masks on all public transportation. All DCTA and North Texas Mobility Corporation personnel and customers will still be required to wear a face mask, covering the nose and mouth, while on any of DCTA’s service vehicle and while at any agency facility. Passengers will not be allowed on DCTA vehicles without a proper face covering, and they must wear a face covering for the entire duration of their trip, and while waiting at bus stops and train stations.
“At DCTA, we’re committed to protecting the health of our passengers and employees and will continue to maintain the federal mask requirement in an effort to keep our communities safe,” Raymond Suarez, DCTA CEO said.
Many local stores and restaurants — including small businesses and national chain locations — are going to continue to require employees and customers to wear masks at their businesses, while others will merely request customers wear them and others will embrace the end of the mandate. Under Abbott’s order, businesses are free to implement the safety protocols and capacity restrictions they wish.
Argyle, Denton and Lewisville ISDs have said that they will continue to require masks on campus, while Northwest ISD has not announced if it will stick to its mask mandate.
