Governors of Texas and Mississippi have announced they would be lifting their states’ mask mandates and rolling back many of their COVID-19 restrictions, a move which worries health experts amid the pandemic.
For Texas with its 29 million residents, Governor Greg Abbott said it was lifting its mask requirement and would allow businesses to fully reopen.
The decision becomes most expansive step by any state to remove coronavirus restrictions as Americans across the country are eager to be free from restrictions after a year of isolation i due to the pandemic.
Governor Abbott, speaking on Tuesday afternoon, at Montelongo’s Mexican Restaurant in Lubbock, stated;
It is now time to open Texas 100 percent. Covid has not suddenly disappeared but state mandates are no longer needed.
Shortly after Abbott’s announcement, Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi also announced that he would end the state’s statewide mask mandate, effective from today, Wednesday.
Reeves tweeted;
Starting tomorrow (today), we are lifting all of our county mask mandates and businesses will be able to operate at full capacity without any state-imposed rules. Our hospitalizations and case numbers have plummeted, and the vaccine is being rapidly distributed. It is time!
Starting tomorrow, we are lifting all of our county mask mandates and businesses will be able to operate at full capacity without any state-imposed rules. Our hospitalizations and case numbers have plummeted, and the vaccine is being rapidly distributed. It is time!
— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) March 2, 2021
All around United States, governors and mayors are calibrating what is feasible, what is safe and what is politically practical.
However, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly cautioned against the rollbacks over emerging coronavirus variants.
Walensky at a daily White House Covid-19 briefing said;
I am really worried about reports that more states are rolling back the exact public health measures we have recommended to protect people from Covid-19.
Please hear me clearly. At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard earned ground we have gained.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday also echoed those concerns, even as he announced the US will have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for every adult by the end of May.
He said;
This fight is far from over. Though we celebrate the news, I urge all Americans, please keep washing your hands, stay socially distanced, wear masks.
