After President Biden said Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to rescind a mask mandate in Texas was “Neanderthal” thinking, Abbott responded by blaming Biden for the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
Abbott is referring to a Telemundo investigation into asylum seekers who have tested positive at bus stations in Brownsville. Since they began doing these tests Jan. 25, 108 migrants have tested positive for Covid-19, which is 6.3 percent of those who took the test.
“President Biden’s administration itself is exposing Texans and Americans to COVID-19 through illegal immigrants that they are allowing to come into the state of Texas, who are positive for COVID-19 and being released into Texas communities,” Abbott said.
Watch the interview where Abbott gets very excited about the dangers of COVID-19 in Texas.
“I hoped that we would realize by now that masks make a difference,” Biden said. “We are on the cusp of fundamentally being able to change the nature of this disease because of the way we’ve been able to get vaccines in people’s arms … The last thing we need is neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, ‘Everything is fine, (so) take off your mask.’ Forget it. It still matters.”
Houston source
The Houston mayor and a Harris County judge expressed how disappointed they were with Abbott’s decision.
- Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner: “Why must Texas always be in the national news for making decisions that go contrary to science and the medical professionals and data? …“The positivity rate in the city of Houston a little over 11%. We are still not where we should be, 5% or below — and staying there,” the mayor said. “There is no medically justifiable reason or scientific reason for businesses in the state of Texas to be operating 100%. And certainly, there is no reason, no justifiable medical reason for the statewide mask order to be dropped.”
- Harris County Judge Linda Hidalgo: “We shouldn’t play with lives in this way, because, what I’m afraid of, is when people see this rescinding of public health interventions, of public health guidelines and restrictions, what they’re going to hear is that there’s an all-clear,” Hidalgo said. “What I want to say, very directly, is that’s not the case. That’s not the case.”
Local Houston Source