Texas lifts statewide COVID-19 mask mandate and occupancy restrictions Brad Brooks Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account Getting audio file ... This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy. Full Disclaimer Montinique Monroe/Getty Images Texans awoke on Wednesday with a statewide mask mandate and occupancy restrictions in businesses lifted, a move some heralded as freedom and others as foolishness. On paper, Texas’ rollback of coronavirus mitigation efforts is the most sweeping seen in the United States, along with a similar measure in Mississippi. In practice, vast swaths of Texas have rarely enforced mask or occupancy mandates in the past year, anyway.