Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced Sunday the state recorded zero COVID-related deaths in the previous 24 hours and reported the lowest seven-day positivity rate since the pandemic began.
His announcement came roughly two months after President Joe Biden condemned the Lone Star State for lifting restrictions in early March, calling the idea of reopening “Neanderthal thinking.”
“I think it’s a big mistake,” Biden said at the time. “Look, I hope everybody’s realized by now these masks make a difference. 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 we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime everything’s fine, take off your mask,” he continued. “Forget it. It still matters. … It’s critical, critical, critical, critical that they follow the science. Wash your hands — hot water — do it frequently. Wear a mask and stay socially distant. And I know you all know that. I wish the heck some of our elected officials knew it.”
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At the same time, failed Senate and Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke lampooned Abbott, whom he said was “sacrific[ing] the lives of our fellow Texans … for political gain.”
He later referred to the GOP as a “cult of death” filled with people “literally upending civilization as we know it” and said Abbott signed “a death warrant for Texans” by removing government restrictions.
“Abbot is killing the people of Texas,” O’Rourke added.
Abbott press secretary Renae Eze responded to Biden’s attack at the time, saying the governor “was clear in telling Texans that COVID hasn’t ended and that all Texas should follow medical advice and safe practices to continue containing COVID.”
“The fact is Texas now has the tools and knowledge to combat COVID while also allowing Texans and small businesses to make their own decisions,” she said. “It is clear from the recoveries, the vaccinations, the reduced hospitalizations, and the safe practices that Texans are using, that state mandates are no longer needed.”
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The update from Texas comes as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks or continue to socially distance from those around them.
Following the updated CDC guidance, which was touted by Biden, Fox News reporter Steve Doocy revisited the president’s “Neanderthal thinking” comment.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki sidestepped the issue.