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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order on Thursday night preventing mask and COVID-19 vaccination mandates to promote 'individual right and responsibility' in the Lone Star State.

Abbott, 63, announced the executive order in a press release just hours after President Joe Biden called on states to do more to incentivize vaccination.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stepped up mask and vaccination recommendations this week amid the worrying surge of the Delta variant - which some doctors have called the 'pandemic of the unvaccinated.'

'Today's executive order will provide clarity and uniformity in the Lone Star State's continued fight against COVID-19,' Abbott said. 

'The new Executive Order emphasizes that the path forward relies on personal responsibility rather than government mandates.'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order on Thursday night preventing mask and COVID-19 vaccination mandates

Abbott, 63, announced the executive order in a press release just hours after President Joe Biden called on states to do more to incentivize vaccination

A person holds a sign to protest at Houston Methodist Hospital in Baytown in June after a policy that says hospital employees must get vaccinated against COVID-19 or lose their jobs

John Kirkconnell is pictured as he receives his dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a city-run popup vaccine clinic on Wednesday in Brownsville, Texas

The Republican governor said that Texans 'have mastered the safe practices' that prevent the spread of COVID-19, even as the state reported 6,347 new cases on Thursday.

The Texas Health and Human Services data also shows 1,876 'possible cases' on Thursday, with 39 new deaths attributed to COVID-19.

The data shows that the two largest demographics of deaths in Texas  are white, 35 percent, and Hispanic - 36 percent. There have been a total of 2,628,438 confirmed cases in the Lone Star State and 51,984 deaths since the pandemic began.

'They have the individual right and responsibility to decide for themselves and their children whether they will wear masks, open their businesses, and engage in leisure activities,' Abbott said.

He added: 'Vaccines, which remain in abundant supply, are the most effective defense against the virus, and they will always remain voluntary – never forced – in the State of Texas.'

The executive order declared that 'no governmental entity can compel any individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine administered under an emergency use authorization.'

It declared that state agencies could not require proof of vaccination, or so-called 'vaccine passports,' from people entering a place of business or receiving services. 

Any public or private entity that receives state funds has also been ordered not to require proof of vaccination or deny people entry for not providing proof.  

Abbott also banned companies, state and local agencies - including school districts - from requiring patrons to wear masks. He also prevented local governments and entities from imposing their own restrictions on masks within their jurisdictions. 

Local governmental entities that impose directives that conflict with Abbott's orders can face fines up to $1,000. 

The executive order declared that 'no governmental entity can compel any individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine' or compel people to provide proof of vaccination

The orders stand in stark opposition to new CDC guidelines - effectively ordering all businesses, local governments and schools not to comply with federal recommendations.

The CDC said on Tuesday that anyone walking into a school should wear masks and that even vaccinated people should wear them again indoors in public spaces in regions 'with substantial and high transmission.'

Substantial transmission areas are defined as having 50-99 new infections for every 100,000 people over a seven-day period - while high transmission areas have 100 or more new infections per 100,000. 

More than 200 of the 254 counties in Texas are in such categories, the Texas Tribune noted.

The Texas State Teachers Association sent a letter to Abbott on Tuesday requesting he let local school districts set their own mask mandates. 

'Educators are eager to return to the classroom, but the pandemic is still dangerous,' said Ovidia Molina, the association's president. 

A map shows the total number of coronavirus deaths and cases in the United States

A map shows the percentages of states that have received vaccinations so far

A chart shows the number of vaccinations given in the United States per vaccine type

A graph shows the average vs cumulative number of vaccinations in the United States

A graph shows shows the daily number of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States

A graph shows the number of coronavirus deaths per day since the start of the pandemic

A graph shows the number of coronavirus deaths per day in June and July

A graph shows the number of coronavirus infections per day since the start of the pandemic

A graph shows the number of coronavirus infections per day in June and July

President Joe Biden on Thursday urged local governments to pay people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and set new rules requiring federal workers to provide proof of vaccination or face regular testing, mask mandates and travel restrictions.

The measures are Biden's latest attempt to spur reluctant Americans to get vaccinated as the Delta variant of the coronavirus surges nationwide, infecting unvaccinated people in particular.

The United States lags behind other developed countries in vaccination rates despite having plenty of free vaccines on hand. 

White House efforts to urge the hesitant to get vaccinated have hit a wall of anti-vaccine sentiment, misinformation, and political division.

Biden's decision to require millions of federal workers and contractors to show proof of vaccination is a departure from a previous opposition to so-called vaccine passports. 

It shows the White House taking a tougher stance towards circumstances within Biden's control as the virus spreads.

'Right now too many people are dying or watching someone they love [dying],' Biden told reporters at the White House.

'With freedom comes responsibility. So please exercise responsible judgment. Get vaccinated for yourself, the people you love, for your country.'

According to the CDC, roughly 163.8 million people in the United States are fully vaccinated out of a population of some 330 million.

The federal government is the largest employer in the United States and Biden's move could serve as an example for private businesses and other institutions to follow as they assess getting workers back into offices and work places.

Government employees who do not show they have been vaccinated will be subject to weekly or twice-weekly COVID-19 tests and restrictions on official travel.

The United States has about 2.18 million civilian employees and 570,000 other U.S. Postal Service (USPS) workers, according to 2020 data. The U.S. government employed 3.7 million contract employees as of 2017, a New York University study found. Postal workers are not affected by the new rules.

Biden also directed the Defense Department to look into 'how and when' it will require members of the military to take the vaccine.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, while traveling in Southeast Asia, said he would consult with his medical advisers and other senior military leaders and come up with a plan for the way ahead.

Austin did not give a timeline on how long it would take to look into the issue but he said the military would move as fast as possible.

Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, is pictured on July 20

An anti-vaccine rally protester dressed up as Joe Biden holds a sign outside of Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, on June 26

Retired RN Barbara Vicente administers a shot of the Pfizer vaccine to Bobbie Guillette, 68, from Austin, Texas, at a clinic at Mother's Brewing Company in Springfield, Missouri

Anti-vaccine rally protesters hold signs outside of Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, on June 26

Meanwhile state, local and U.S. territorial governments will be able to dip into $350 billion in coronavirus aid to provide $100 payments for every newly vaccinated American to boost COVID-19 inoculation rates, the U.S. Treasury Department said.

'I know that paying people to get vaccinated might sound unfair to folks who have gotten vaccinated already. But here's the deal: if incentives help us beat this virus, I believe we should use them,' Biden said.

Growing outbreaks could have an impact on the strong economic recovery. The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 6.5 percent in the last quarter, the government said on Thursday.

Another issue is how the surge in infections affects efforts to get children back into schools in the fall.

'We can and we must open schools this fall, full time,' Biden said. 'We can't afford another year out of the classroom.'

Biden pressed school districts to hold at least one 'pop-up vaccination clinic' in the coming weeks to get children aged 12 and older vaccinated.

The White House also said small- and medium-sized businesses will be reimbursed for offering their workers paid time off to get children and other family members vaccinated.

The National Treasury Employees Union, which has 150,000 federal employees in 34 departments and agencies, said it encouraged its members to get vaccinated but had questions about how the new rules Biden laid out would be implemented.

'We will work to ensure employees are treated fairly and this protocol does not create an undue burden on them,' the union's president, Tony Reardon, said in a statement.

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which has 90,000 members including some 30,000 NASA engineers and other skilled federal workers, said it supported a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal workers.

'We don't want any more of our members dying,' the union's president, Paul Shearon, said in a statement.