AOC Rages over Texas Reopening: ‘This Endangers the Entire Country and Beyond’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks during a news conference in the Queens borough of New
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Hannah Knudsen

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) raged after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) rolled back coronavirus restrictions in the state, including the mask mandate, on Tuesday, warning that the move “endangers the entire country and beyond.”

“93.2% of Texans aren’t fully vaccinated. The state just endured one disaster worsened by selfishness + denial of basic science, and now conditions are being set for another,” the far-left Democrat said, expressing outrage over the governor’s decision to roll back the statewide mask mandate, which had been in effect since July.

“Repealing the mask mandate now endangers so many people, especially essential workers & the vulnerable,” she continued, warning that reopening the state “endangers the entire country and beyond.

“We are in a pandemic. We know that COVID spread isn’t neatly contained by state borders, and explosions in COVID cases can increase the likelihood of new COVID variants to develop or spread to new places,” she added. “It’s dangerous”:

Gov. Abbott made the announcement on Tuesday during an event in Lubbock, Texas, telling the group of business and community leaders that it is “time for Texas to be open 100 percent.”

“Everybody that wants a job should be able to get a job. Every business that wants to be open should be open,” the Republican governor said, noting that Texas now has sufficient tools to protect Texans from the Chinese coronavirus.

“With the medical advancements of vaccines and antibody therapeutic drugs, Texas now has the tools to protect Texans from the virus,” he said.

“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.

Abbott said that over 7 million vaccines will have been given by next week, adding that the state administers “about 1 million” a week.

“Hospitalizations & the positivity rate are lowest in 4 months. All Texans know the safe practices,” he said in a social media post:

Texas is following Florida’s lead, as the Sunshine State has remained open under Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) leadership. DeSantis pledged during his Tuesday State of the State address that he will continue to ensure that the state remains open for business.

“Friends, legislators, Floridians, lend me your ears: We will not let anybody close your schools, we will not let anybody take your jobs and we will not let anybody close your businesses!” DeSantis promised:

Notably, Florida, which has remained open, has reported significantly fewer new cases of the virus per capita in the last seven days than New York, which has seen some of the strictest restrictions in the country, according to March 2 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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