Biden: ‘People’s lives are at stake’.
On Tuesday, only hours after the Republican states announced the change on COVID safety policies, President Biden was showing deep concern over the ongoing threat of coronavirus. He is warning that it is simply not time yet.
“Though we celebrate the news of a third vaccine, I urge all Americans, please keep washing your hands, stay socially distanced, wear masks — keep wearing them, get vaccinated when it’s your turn,” Biden said from the White House. “Now is not the time to let up.”
The president’s statement was followed by a tweet by the Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, declaring that all state introduced coronavirus regulations were to be lifted Wednesday, also including the mask mandates.
“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!” Reeves tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
Earlier the same day Texas governor Greg Abbot made an announcement that with vaccine advancements he plans to revoke many of the state’s COVID mandates in the following week. He also said they have made this decision based on a decrease of state-wide cases.
“With the medical advancements of vaccines and antibody therapeutic drugs, Texas now has the tools to protect Texans from the virus,” Abbott said when declaring that all businesses will be allowed to function with a 100 percent capacity and masks are no longer a requirement.
“We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent. Make no mistake, COVID-19 has not disappeared, but it is clear from the recoveries, vaccinations, reduced hospitalizations, and safe practices that Texans are using, that state mandates are no longer needed,” Abbott added.
These announcements released by the Republican governors emerges just one day after the director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky, cautioned that with the CODVID variants on the rise, there will be a possible rise in cases if the public is not mindful of the risks.
“At this level of cases, with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained,” she claimed during a White House briefing Monday.
“Now is not the time to relax the critical safeguards that we know can stop the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, not when we are so close,” she continued. “We have the ability to stop a potential fourth surge of cases in this country.”
On Tuesday, Biden asked states to please remember his request to wear a mask for the first 100 days of his presidency, and to continue to follow health guidelines in place.
“Now’s not the time to let our guard down,” he said from the White House. “People’s lives are at stake.”