On Tuesday, San Antonio officials announced they have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott to return power to respond to COVID-19 to the city.
The lawsuit, filed in the state District Court in Bexar County, asks for a temporary restraining order against the governor’s latest emergency order, which prohibits any local government or school systems from enforcing face masks or vaccines.
“We are challenging the governor’s authority to suspend local emergency orders during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg states in a news release. “Ironically, the governor is taking a state law meant to facilitate local action during an emergency and using it to prohibit local response to the emergency that he himself declared.”
If the courts grant the lawsuit, the San Antonio Bexar County Health Authority says it will immediately issue an order requiring masks in public schools and requiring quarantine if an unvaccinated student is determined to be in close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual.
As the county’s medical director, Dr. Junda Woo has the authority to issue emergency health directives requiring public schools to follow the guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“As the school year begins, the health of our students, especially those under 12 who are not eligible to be vaccinated, are being put at risk. The pandemic is not over,” Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff states in the release. “We need to continue to utilize every tool we have to combat the very contagious delta variant. We have come too far to allow our students to be super-spreaders and put more lives at risk.”
The action from city officials follows Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who also asked a Texas court Monday for a temporary restraining order against Abbott’s order.
On Tuesday, San Antonio officials announced they have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott to return power to respond to COVID-19 to the city.
The lawsuit, filed in the state District Court in Bexar County, asks for a temporary restraining order against the governor’s latest emergency order, which prohibits any local government or school systems from enforcing face masks or vaccines.
“We are challenging the governor’s authority to suspend local emergency orders during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg states in a news release. “Ironically, the governor is taking a state law meant to facilitate local action during an emergency and using it to prohibit local response to the emergency that he himself declared.” If the courts grant the lawsuit, the San Antonio Bexar County Health Authority says it will immediately issue an order requiring masks in public schools and requiring quarantine if an unvaccinated student is determined to be in close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual.
As the county’s medical director, Dr. Junda Woo has the authority to issue emergency health directives requiring public schools to follow the guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“As the school year begins, the health of our students, especially those under 12 who are not eligible to be vaccinated, are being put at risk. The pandemic is not over,” Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff states in the release. “We need to continue to utilize every tool we have to combat the very contagious delta variant. We have come too far to allow our students to be super-spreaders and put more lives at risk.”
The action from city officials follows Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who also asked a Texas court Monday for a temporary restraining order against Abbott’s order. Read Morelocal_news
