FORT WORTH, Texas — As the state gears up to remove the mask mandate Wednesday, Tarrant County is already marking a week without it.
"I wished again that we'd waited until after spring break before we let everybody loose," said Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley of Gov. Greg Abbott's decision.
But Whitley went ahead and lifted the county's restrictions as soon as Abbott made his announcement, telling WFAA previously he expected there'd be so much non-compliance anyway.
However, the commissioners court made it clear Tuesday the county itself isn't ready to go masks off quite yet; commissioners kept mask mandates in place for all county buildings, and likely will for a while, Whitley said.
"In my mind, I'd like to see... around 60 percent of folks vaccinated," before lifting the mandate, he said.
All of this is coming as COVID-19 cases and death rates fall in the county. It's great news, said Public Health Director Vinny Taneja. But it's news that comes with a caveat.
"The issue on hand is spring break, right?" Taneja said. "That's where my concern is currently. People need to pay attention. There's new guidance out from CDC that advises against traveling... especially international travel."
Testing is down, too. Taneja urged Tarrant County residents to get tested for COVID-19 if they're not feeling well. He said without testing and accurate virus counts, it makes it more difficult to show accurate trend information.
The county also urged everyone to get signed up for a vaccine as soon as possible.
"We're probably going to see some other phases open," Taneja said. "I don't know exactly which population group they're going to say is now eligible," but they want people to be ready.
Tarrant County is ready to vaccinate; they just need more doses, officials said.
So far, about 370,000 doses have been given out in the county.