Bexar County district judge orders face coverings worn in courtrooms

SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County District Judge Ron Rangel has taken another step in hopes of preventing the spread of the coronavirus in courtrooms.

Rangel, who is also Bexar County Administrative Judge, wants people to wear a mask covering their mouth and nose.

“Face coverings are going to include every single person that walks into a courtroom,” he said.

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The order includes judges, attorneys, bailiffs, the defendant and families.

Rangel said the order tracks Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that warn that the public can transmit the COVID-19 virus even though they are showing no symptoms.

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“Public safety first,” Rangel said. “We never want to put anybody, regardless of who that person is, in harm’s way.”

COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.

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