Don't wear a mask in Houston, receive $250 fine

Mayor Turner announces mask citations in effect

Houston police officers will begin issuing citations to anyone not wearing a mask in public.

HOUSTON - The City of Houston will begin issuing citations to people who are not wearing a mask.

Mayor Sylvester Turner made the announcement on Monday afternoon.

"For months, we have focused on education and not citations. But now, I am instructing the Houston Police Department to issue necessary warnings and citations to anyone not wearing a mask in public if they do not meet the criteria for an exemption," Mayor Turner said.

Citations for not wearing a mask in Houston

Houstonians react after Mayor Turner announced that Houston Police Department would be issuing citations to people not wearing masks as outlined by Gov. Greg Abbott's order.

Houston police officers will be issuing the warnings and citations to anyone not wearing a face-covering in public, as outlined in Texas Governor Greg Abbott's statewide mandatory mask order.

DETAILS: Statewide mask requirement in Texas now in effect

The citation comes with a $250 fine.

Only those meeting the right criteria will be exempt.

"Lives are at stake, so I am taking this step to save lives and slow the virus from spreading in the month of August," Turner wrote in a tweet.

Houston police will not respond to 9-1-1 calls about people not wearing masks.

On Monday, Houston also reported 1,104 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the city's total to 50,896. The city's death count increased by six to 478.

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