So many on the left were predicting disaster for Texas after Republican Governor Greg Abbott lifted any remaining Wuhan coronavirus restrictions from the government and eliminated the mask mandate.
Texas announced on March 2 that it would take effect March 10.
Immediately, Joe Biden slammed Abbott’s decision as “Neanderthal thinking.”
“We’ve been able to move that all the way up to the end of May to have enough [vaccines] for every American, to get every adult American to get a shot,” Biden told reporters from the White House earlier this month. “The last thing we need is the Neanderthal thinking.”
So how has that “Neanderthal thinking” worked out? Has the state fallen to all the increased virus cases?
Hardly.
The number of new cases has continued to go down, according to Worldometers and the state’s own records.
Remember when Texas ended the mask mandate 3 weeks ago and we got countless articles about how ending the mandate would lead to a huge outbreak…
Let's look at TX cases 3 weeks later vs NY cases in the same period…. pic.twitter.com/RsYc6DrTeM
— AG (@AGHamilton29) March 26, 2021
Today Texas hit an all-time recorded low for the 7-day Covid positivity rate: 5.27%.
It's been below 6% for 5 days & below 10% for an entire month.
Covid hospitalizations declined again–now at the lowest level since October 3rd.
Vaccinations continue to increase rapidly.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 27, 2021
The governor championed his state’s success in a Friday night tweet saying, “Today Texas recorded the lowest 7-day COVID positivity rate since that data began being calculated: 5.43%.”
Fox News continued:
“We also recorded the largest daily number of vaccines administered to Texans: 342,849. More Texans getting vaccines will keep down the positivity rate,” he said, though adding that receiving the vaccine was “always voluntary.”
As of Friday, there were 500 fewer new cases than last week, according to the Texas health department, with only 2,239 new cases. This, while some other places who are still under restrictions have had their cases go up.
Looks like Joe Biden is going to have to eat those words about ‘Neanderthal thinking.’ Sure looking like the Neanderthals might have been right here.
Our friends over at Hot Air suggest there may be a few factors at work operating here, including that the weather in the South has been very nice and has been allowing people to get outside in the sun, and that people are wearing masks anyway, whether there’s a mandate or not.
But while this is great news for the country in general, this is bad news for folks like Biden who keep wanting to assert control, hype a continuing crisis, and keep us restricted seemingly in perpetuity.
It’s almost as if behavior isn’t solely determined by a government mandate, giving people leeway doesn’t mean they will necessarily act less responsibly, and having a successful vaccination campaign means precautions become less important.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) March 26, 2021
Biden called Texans "Neanderthal" thinkers. Yet COVID numbers are dropping after Texas lifted mask mandates and other restrictions. So who is the "Neanderthal" now, Joe? https://t.co/jYBRTvvP4r
— Gary Lamphier (@lamphieryeg) March 27, 2021
It's been three weeks since Biden accused Texas and Mississippi of "Neanderthal thinking" for lifting their Covid restrictions. pic.twitter.com/7HbNqdHUgG
— Matthew Hennessey (@MattHennessey) March 25, 2021
“Two Weeks After 'Neanderthal' Decision To Lift Mask Mandate, Texas COVID Numbers Drop”
Texas Dept of State Health Services data:
The average number of new Covid cases in Texas dropped by 2,199 over the past two weeks, which marked a whopping 36% DROP 🧐 https://t.co/oQdDoDfZnw
— Teddy Brosevelt 🇺🇸 (@_TeddyBrosevelt) March 25, 2021
In case anyone was wondering why you stopped hearing about Texas two weeks after their restrictions were 100% lifted…. pic.twitter.com/plEOJPpM69
— Joe Borelli (@JoeBorelliNYC) March 28, 2021
Who’s the ‘Neanderthal’ now, Joe?
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