When Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) announced earlier this month that he was opening his state to 100 percent capacity and revoking mask mandates, the left panicked over this display of insistence on personal responsibility. President Joe Biden even targeted Abbott for his “ Neanderthal thinking, ” then in his March 11 speech to the nation he praised a show of unity, saying his government “ worked with … red and blue states. “
NEW: Issue of Executive Order to Lift Mask Mandate and Open Texas 100 Percent. pic.twitter.com/P4UywmWeuN
– Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) March 2, 2021
Abbott himself acknowledged, with extra emphasis, in his statement that read in part:
Make no mistake, COVID-19 has not disappeared, but it’s clear from the recoveries, vaccinations, reduced hospitalizations, and safe practices Texans use that state mandates are no longer necessary. Today’s announcement is not letting go of the safe practices Texans have mastered over the past yearInstead, it is a reminder that each person has a role to play in their own personal safety and that of others.
Abbott’s statement also referred to Texas in the lowest cases. The number of cases also continues to decline. US News & World Report has consistently covered a drop in the number of cases in Texas, using updates from Johns Hopkins. There was an increase in the number of cases from Friday, March 13 to Saturday, March 14, but the follow-up from March 16 and March 18 indicated a trend decline.
“Still, the moving average of new cases reported in Texas has fallen 3,078 per day in the past two weeks, a 39.7% decrease, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University,” the March 16 report of the report. number of cases in Texas that are above 4,000.
The researchers also said the moving average of daily new cases has decreased by 2,695 cases over the past two weeks, a decrease of 37%, it was reported on March 18.
While the March 14 headline out The Dallas Morning News of “Texas Reports More Than 2,300 New COVID-19 Cases While Tarrant County Adds 22 Fatalities” Highlights cases and deaths, the subhead still acknowledges that “state affairs and deaths have declined in the past two weeks.” It is also stated that:
According to Johns Hopkins data, the seven-day moving averages of new cases and deaths in Texas in the past two weeks have declined from Saturday.
The average number of new cases fell from 7,964 per day on February 25 to 4,648 on March 11, while the average number of deaths fell from 220.6 to 168.9 per day during the same period.
That article may be fixated on how Texas has the third-highest number of deaths, but it’s important to point out that it’s the second-most populous state in the country. California has experienced the most deaths, while New York has experienced the second most deaths. All three states are among the most populous in the country, although California, led by Governor Gavin Newsom, who is facing a recall and who had a meltdown over Abbott’s announcement, has had the toughest lockdowns.
Again, it’s worth stressing that the virus isn’t over yet. Show me where Abbott claimed it was. However, we are making progress. People are getting vaccines and the number of cases is declining, including in Texas. Let’s embrace that and act on it.
As noted in the report mentioned above, Johns Hopkins provides data on these trends, including Texas.
After all, the originally stated goal was to flatten the curve. Turn right?