“I know I’ve seen some pamphlets about the party mask. I don’t even understand it,” Turner said.
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City leaders are looking for a promotion for Concrete Cowboy, a bar on Washington Avenue.
Turner joined state Rep. Ann Johnson on Sunday at a press conference calling for the cancellation of the event.
“We make sure we have the vaccines in people’s arms before we open the doors and start acting like everything is fine when everything is not right,” Turner said.
After fighting last year, losing money every month, seeing a different bar trying to exploit the end of a health policy, Al Jara, the owner of Marquis II, considers him irresponsible.
“I don’t have to try to actively bring people together. More than likely I’ll give my clients the option, but I won’t promote coming here and having a huge meeting. I think it’s incredibly irresponsible,” Jara said.
Johnson applauded the bar owners who act responsibly at this time.
This weekend, Turner said the city of Houston has more than 2,000 deaths from COVID-19. He also reminded people that there are five variants of the virus in the city.
The removal of the Texas Masks Mandate and the promotion of the Concrete Cowboy Mask Party have caused concern for other similar events in other states arriving in Texas.
Turner said promoters in states that do not have 100% permission to operate and are forced to wear a mask, promote wearing these events to cities like Houston, Dallas and Austin.
“This poses a serious risk,” he said.
Johnson added that just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we have to do it.
“What Governor Abbott has done is give a license to irresponsible people to put our public health at risk, when he should get his liquor license out of it,” he said. “Therefore, we urge all Houstonians to continue to follow healthy measures of social distancing, vaccination, and tasks to protect our safety.”
A pediatrician at Hermann Greater Heights Memorial Hospital also attended the briefing asking people to continue to take preventative action.
“The masked events celebrating the reckless, if not the negligent withdrawal of COVID-19 prevention measures, are like pouring salt on an open wound for the health workers of this city and this great state,” said Dr. Christina Propst.
He said right now seven percent of jeans are vaccinated. To achieve herd immunity, 70% of jeans need to be vaccinated.
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