Masks will continue to be required in Bexar County courtrooms despite new CDC guidelines

SAN ANTONIO – Anyone entering a Bexar County courtroom next month when in-person jury trials begin will be required to wear a mask despite new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that allows fully vaccinated people to stop wearing them in most indoor settings.

“We are going to continue with the minimum standard protocols that I have already filed,” Local Administrative Judge Ron Rangel said Friday.

In addition to wearing masks, social distancing will also be practiced in courtrooms, Rangel said.

”There’s an arm of the Texas Supreme Court called the Office of Court Administration, and they’ve given us the best practices to consider and to follow, and frankly I’m going to follow those to a tee,” Rangel said.

The judge said public safety has always been his primary concern during the pandemic.

“I would not want anybody to be injured as a result of the decisions we make here in the courthouse,” Rangel said.

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