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HEALTH-VIRUS-US
Texas reopens ‘100%’ as US vaccination drive gains pace
HOUSTON, March 11, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Texas lifted its mask mandate and
capacity restrictions on restaurants and other businesses Wednesday, despite
experts warning the “100 percent” relaxation of coronavirus curbs will
exacerbate the spread of worrying variants.
The Lone Star State became the fifth to rescind its face covering order in
a sign of increasing optimism about the pandemic in the world’s hardest hit
country, where the infection rate has fallen dramatically since January but
still remains high in absolute terms.
“It is now time to open Texas 100 percent,” said Governor Greg Abbott when
he announced his plans to ease restrictions last week.
The Texas Rangers meanwhile are set to become the first major US
professional sports team to welcome back a capacity crowd after announcing
ticketing plans for the upcoming baseball season on Wednesday.
The Rangers said their 40,300-capacity ballpark would operate at full
capacity for two exhibition games against Milwaukee on March 29-30 and the
season opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 5.
The moves came as the immunization campaign was gathering momentum, with 62
million people so far receiving one or more doses — about 19 percent of the
adult population — and Alaska became the first state to open up the shots to
anyone aged 16 or over.
The White House on Wednesday announced plans to acquire 100 million more
vaccines from Johnson & Johnson, giving the United States contingency
capacity as it targets inoculating the adult population of 270 million people
by May.
“We need maximum flexibility, there’s always a chance that we’ll encounter
unexpected challenges, or there’ll be a new need for a vaccination effort,”
said President Joe Biden, explaining the decision.
He added: “If we have a surplus, we’re going to share it with the rest of
the world,” stressing the US had committed $4 billion to Covax, the global
initiative to distribute vaccines to lower-income countries.
Biden said he would launch the next phase of the country’s Covid response
in a primetime address Thursday.
– Texans mixed on masks –
In downtown Houston, the biggest city of the nation’s second most populous
state, the overwhelming majority of people continued to wear their masks
despite the new order.
Businessman Omar Abu-Shaaban called the move a politically motivated nod to
the governor’s anti-science Republican base.
“I don’t think he had the health of the people in mind,” he said.
But 22-year-old Kade Phillips told AFP he supported the decision.
“I think it’s good for everyone to be able to make their own choice and
what they choose for their body,” he said.
Popular grocery chains had already said they would keep their mask orders
in place, while cities can also keep the orders on municipal buildings and
there are also no changes to the rule on federal property.
Support for mask measures is strongly divided along political lines, with
people in more conservative and rural parts of the country more likely to
view them as an affront to personal freedom.
– Celebrating too early? –
More than 529,000 Americans have died from Covid-19 but while cases have
declined dramatically since the January 11 peak, the infection rate has been
plateauing since the last week of February at around 60,000 new cases per
day.
Peter Hotez, a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine, tweeted he was
worried about a “perfect storm” coming to Texas with the lifting of the mask
mandate, one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, rising cases of
the B.1.1.7 variant first seen in Britain, an uptick in the test positivity
rate and spring break.
In Maryland, which borders the capital Washington, Governor Larry Hogan
announced that effective Friday the state would lift capacity limits on both
outdoor and indoor dining, retail businesses and places of worship and allow
large outdoor and indoor venues to begin operating at 50 percent capacity.
And Los Angeles and southern California will be allowed to partially reopen
indoor dining and movie theaters from this weekend, Governor Gavin Newsom
said, as the region hit key health criteria.
Hotez cautioned against a “national race to the bottom” adding that while
the United States doesn’t have enough vaccines yet, it will in two months’
time.
“We don’t have to needlessly lose American lives in the spring of 2021,” he
said.
BSS/AFP/FI/0806 hrs