Texas And Mississippi Drop Covid 19 Restrictions — Even Mask Mandates

By On Oct 28, 2022

Texas and Mississippi are both dropping their Covid-19 restrictions on businesses and ending their mask mandates, the states’ governors announced Tuesday, the latest in a string of states that have relaxed or dropped restrictions as cases have fallen nationwide despite public health officials strongly urging against it.“Personal vigilance to follow the safe standards is still needed to contain Covid. It’s just that now, state mandates are no longer needed,” Abbott said. “At this time, people and businesses don’t need the state telling them how to operate.”“Abbott removing a statewide mandate while preaching personal responsibility to prevent the spread of COVID is an abdication of his own personal and professional responsibility to keep Texans safe,” Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement Tuesday. “By removing all previous state mandates and opening the state to 100 percent, Governor Abbott, who has never taken this pandemic seriously, is doing what he does best: leaving Texans to fend for themselves.”A growing number of states have taken steps to loosen or walk back some Covid-19 restrictions in recent weeks as cases and other metrics dropped in February following a holiday season surge. Michigan became the latest state to increase capacity on indoor dining Tuesday, for instance, while Massachusetts and Arkansas recently dropped its occupancy limits on restaurants altogether. A few states have also recently repealed their mask mandates, including Montana, Iowa and North Dakota. The dropped restrictions have taken place over the objections of public health officials, who warn that the recent decline in cases is now plateauing as more transmissible coronavirus variants take hold. Texas health officials had also cautioned prior to Tuesday’s announcement it would be “too soon” to lift the mask mandate, given vaccination rates are still too low to achieve herd immunity in the state. Abbott’s announcement took place on Texas Independence Day. Gov. Reeves: Mississippi lifting all county mask mandates, businesses can operate at full capacity (Daily Journal)CDC Chief Is ‘Really Worried’ About States Loosening Covid-19 Restrictions—Many Are Doing It Anyway (Forbes)Montana Becomes Latest State To Lift Mask Mandate Despite Threat Of New Coronavirus Variants (Forbes)Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus