NEW - Texas is not the first state to end a statewide restriction for people to wear masks in public, 15 other states do not have a mask mandate

Texas is not the first state to end a statewide restriction for people to wear masks in public, fifteen other states do not have a mask mandate or never adopted one in the first place, according to AARP.

New executive order
Under a new executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas will become one of 16 states without a statewide order mandating masks in public to prevent the growth of the coronavirus. The order will overrule previous safety measures executed by Abbott aimed to protect people amid a global pandemic. That has caused more than 515,000 deaths in the United States, including more than 43,000 fatalities in Texas.

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