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Houston joins other school districts in Texas, including those in Austin, Dallas and Spring, in issuing mask mandates.

On Wednesday, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins signed an order requiring masks indoors in certain public spaces, including public schools.

In response, Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said they will fight the county mask mandate in court.

\"PHOTO:
Eric Gay/AP Photo
PHOTO: In this Tuesday, June 8, 2021, file photo, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a news conference in Austin, Texas.
>

\"Under Executive Order GA-38, no governmental entity can require or mandate the wearing of masks,\" Abbott said in a statement. \"The path forward relies on personal responsibility -- not government mandates. The State of Texas will continue to vigorously fight the temporary restraining order to protect the rights and freedoms of all Texans.\"

Statewide, the seven-day average of daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have reached their highest points since January, when Texas was emerging from its winter surge. COVID-19 hospitalizations rose by nearly 3,000 in the last week, the state health department said on Twitter Wednesday, warning that \"risk of infection is very high.\"

Pediatric cases have been surging in particular, with 94,000 reported in the last week, or 15% of all reported new infections, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association. Also, pediatric COVID-19-related hospital admissions are at their highest level since the beginning of the pandemic.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden said he stood with officials defying state mandates barring masks in schools.

\"To the mayors, school superintendents, educators, local leaders, who are standing up to the governors politicizing mask protection for our kids, thank you,\" he told reporters. \"Thank God that we have heroes like you. And I stand with you all, and America should as well.\"

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