Sourced from Tyler Durden’s article on Zero Hedge, “Texas Ended Lockdowns & Mask Mandates; Now Locked-Down States Are Where COVID Is Growing Most”
A surge of re-openings brought forth a wave of optimism as the Republican government in Texas revoked lockdown and other Covid-19 restrictions. "It is now time to open Texas 100 percent," Abbott said. He further added that “too many Texans were sidelined from employment opportunities” as businesses started operating at a reduced capacity due to the coronavirus restrictions.
The leftists labeled Greg Abbott's government as the 'Cult of Death’ as O’Rourke remarked,
“They literally want to sacrifice the lives of our fellow Texans, for I don’t know, for political gain? To satisfy certain powerful interests within the state? This isn’t hyperbole. You heard our lieutenant governor, arguably one of the most powerful positions in the state of Texas, say on Fox News at the beginning of the pandemic, we are willing to die. Old people are willing to sacrifice their lives in order for the economy to reopen.”
This wasn’t all; criticism did not end here. Shortly after Abbott’s executive order, President Joe Biden criticized Texas’ move as “Neanderthal thinking.”
Apart from Texas’ calculated move, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, and some other states expressed their stance on revoking the lockdown restriction and mask mandate. Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma’s Republican Governor, followed in Texas’s footsteps and rolled back the mask mandate as the government believed, “wearing a mask must be your personal choice.” He further added, “The standard for normal cannot be zero cases; in Oklahoma, the standard for normal is freedom."
Despite the accusations and predictions, Texas and other states performed reasonably well as the Covid tally saw a substantial decrease; the lockdown narrative failed overwhelmingly. Anthony Fauci, who simply failed to accept the situation, could only suggest a few unconvincing lines about the difference between a lockdown and the people obeying the lockdown.
“You know you could have a situation where they say, ‘We’re going to lock down,’ and yet you have people doing exactly what they want—”
Was he suggesting that people in states with the highest cases were not obeying the states’ restrictions?
Texas has lifted its mask mandate entirely, while Florida has eliminated occupancy constraints. On the other hand, masks in restaurants and schools are required in Michigan, and outdoor stadiums only have a seating capacity of 20%.
What does conventional wisdom say? By the lockdown logic, states with strict restrictions should have fewer cases. But that’s not happening. Michigan stands out in the United States like a sore thumb. According to Johns Hopkins monitoring info, new cases appear at a rate of 72.16 per 100,000 people.
Texas has seen the lowest rates in April. Since then, in the last ten days, the number of admissions has marginally risen from 2,772 to 2,931. As of the end of February, the average of 7 days for new cases has remained low. Data from the start of April to now indicate a possible downturn.
Florida’s covid-19 overall performance has been far less devastating than other states that imposed strict lockdowns. Florida stands at the 28th position in terms of covid deaths.
The lockdown supporters do not explain how states with lenient Covid measures are performing far better than those struggling with long periods of lockdown and strict restrictions. All the progress in Texas sums up to the careful use of masks and social distancing. Governments could have contributed towards decreasing the covid tally by spreading awareness about social distancing instead of imposing lockdowns.
Despite all odds in Texas’ favor, leftists and media would indeed insist that Michigan and New York are far “on the right track” while Texas and Florida are pushing citizens towards “human sacrifice.”