Two of the states that pushed the hardest to get reopened are now dialing things back considerably.
Both Florida and Texas are now going backward or halting reopening due to the massive increase in positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
How Did This Happen?
We knew going into the reopening that cases would increase, but it was not supposed to happen to this level.
While the rioting and the looting are to blame for some of these numbers, so is the fact that some of the social distancing measures were completely ignored, especially by younger people.
Many of the new cases being reported are within that demographic, as well as being something Texas Governor Greg Abbott pointed to when he announced he would be slowing things down.
There are a lot of fingers pointing to the reopening of bars as the reason why cases are exploding in Texas.
People tend to get closer together and alcohol lowers your resistance, a match made in heaven for a virus.
Abbott stated, “If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars, now seeing in the aftermath of how quickly the coronavirus spread in the bar setting.”
He would go not to say that a “bar setting, in reality, just doesn’t work with a pandemic.”
Abbott added that people “go to bars to get close and to drink and to socialize, and that’s the kind of thing that stokes the spread of coronavirus.”
Florida has been experiencing much the same, with local bars and restaurants completely ignoring social distancing measures.
Governor Rod DeSantis stated, “If you go in and it’s just like mayhem, like Dance Party USA and it’s packed to the rafters.
“That’s not just an innocent mistake.”
Dialing It Back
On Friday, Abbott shut down bars across the state of Texas as well as scaling back restaurant capacity to 50 percent.
He stated, “At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars.
“The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health.”
Florida is taking similar measures, recently announced major beach closures during the July 4 weekend.
Even with these increased numbers, though, it is important to note that death tolls are still largely under control and remaining consistent, as many of these new cases are younger people, as mentioned above, that will completely recover.
Even so, Abbott and DeSantis are playing it safe while Democrat governors who have remained closed sit back and gloat.
This is going to be yet another strike against President Trump as he was pushing hard to get states to reopen and Democrats will be more than happy to push this increase in positive testing right in his lap.
Source: NPR & Texas Tribune
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