When Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the state’s mask mandate and restrictions on businesses’ operating capacities, the doomsayers warned of catastrophe. Nearly three weeks later, Texas is seeing record-low coronavirus numbers.
Abbott announced at the beginning of the month that the state would be lifting its mask mandate on March 10. Now, 19 days later, the state’s seven-day positivity rate is at its lowest since the start of the pandemic. The number of new daily cases is at its lowest since September. Cases, deaths, and hospitalizations are all declining over the last 14 days, with hospitalizations at a six-month low.
It’s a far cry from the death and despair that Democrats promised was on the horizon. The chairman of the Texas Democratic Party declared that the move “will kill Texans.” President Joe Biden called it “Neanderthal thinking.” California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, facing a recall thanks to his awful handling of the virus, called it reckless.
They were all wrong — predictably so. Some major stores are still requiring masks for entry, as they were always allowed to do. While cases, deaths, and hospitalizations are all down, the vaccination numbers continue to rise: Over 3.6 million Texans have been fully vaccinated.
The Texas Rangers are planning for a full-capacity crowd for their home opener next week as baseball makes its return. Forty thousand tickets have already been sold for boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez’s next fight, which takes place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, breaking a pre-sale record for the 60,000 planned capacity event. Texans are making their choices known, and the numbers back up their decisions.
Doomsday has not come to pass in Texas, but the doom-and-gloom narrative continues from politicians and bureaucrats. Biden, who said he was not going to shut down the country but that he would “shut down the virus,” has now said that states should stop reopening. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, who as recently as last month said that teachers don’t need to be vaccinated to return to the classroom, is now warning of “impending doom” over the trajectory of the pandemic.
The doomsday predictions were wrong about Texas. They were also wrong about Georgia’s “experiment in human sacrifice.” They were wrong about Florida’s reopening last summer, and they were wrong that strict lockdowns worked, as Newsom found out in California. Now, with 20% of adults fully vaccinated, including nearly half of all adults 65 and over, the pessimism keeps coming, and it remains detached from reality.
