Even though Williamson County was lowered to a coronavirus spread risk of “minimal” on Oct. 26, masks are still required.

Texas Executive Order GA-29, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on July 3, requires every person in Texas to wear a face covering over their nose and mouth when inside a commercial entity or other building or space open to the public, as well as when in an outdoor public space and it is not feasible to maintain six feet of social distancing from another person not in the same household.

Counties are exempt from the rule if the county had 30 or fewer new COVID-19 cases during the previous 14-day period. Williamson County has reported 422 in the last 14 days, according to Williamson County and Cities Health District data.

The mask mandate is still in effect until the county judge of a county with 30 or fewer new COVID-19 cases during the previous 14-day period submits an exemption form to affirmatively opt out of the mandate and the county is listed on the official Texas Division of Emergency Management website as exempt.

If the county were to return to an average of more than 30 COVID-19 cases over the previous 14 days, the mask mandate will be reinstated, it read.


Mask policies are set by the county based on the above criteria. For more details on what minimal spread risk level means, click here.