Biden blasts 'Neanderthal thinking' of governors who lifted covid-19 mandates in Texas, Mississippi [View all]
Source: Washington Post
Biden on Wednesday sharply criticized the decisions by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) one day earlier to lift coronavirus restrictions in their states, calling the moves “a big mistake.”
“Look, I hope everybody’s realized by now these mass make a difference,” Biden told reporters at the White House Wednesday afternoon ahead of a meeting on combating cancer. “We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way in which we’re able to get vaccines in people’s arms. …
The last thing, the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking — that, 'In the meantime, everything’s fine. Take off your mask. Forget it.’ It still matters.” Biden added that it is “critical, critical, critical” that state leaders “follow the science” and that Americans continue to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines. “I know you all know that,” he told reporters. “I wish the heck some of our elected officials would.”
On Tuesday, Abbott ended his state’s mask mandate and boasted in all-caps on Twitter that “Texas is OPEN 100%. EVERYTHING.” Reeves announced similar plans. With both Texas and Mississippi still in the top 10 deaths per capita among U.S. states, health officials have warned that easing restrictions before vaccines have been widely distributed could cause another spike in cases and deaths.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/03/joe-biden-live-updates/#link-XXFCNSDYQJHWFBWD76MR6GIT4M
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