Texas Ended ALL Pandemic Restrictions — What Happens Next?

Florida Governor Rick DeSantis has thoroughly thumbed his nose at federal and liberal pressure to squeeze the life out of Florida business owners with more lockdowns. This set the stage for other states to say no to the unprecedented tyranny we’ve seen over the last 12 months. Now, Texas Governor Greg Abbot has said no to COVID-related restrictions altogether. He released a statement this week saying that there will be no mask mandates, no lockdowns and that all businesses that are still able to open will not be stopped by any state-level regulations.

With former Vice President Joe Biden occupying the White House, this could not have happened at a better time. While Biden has declared that lockdowns should be strengthened and that mask mandates should be doubled, America needs leadership in the fight to resist this dangerous medical authoritarianism.

Abbot published a tweet saying, “I just announced Texas is open 100%. EVERYTHING. I also ended the statewide mask mandate.”

Naturally, Abbot has taken fire on Twitter from politicians who are eager to retain their lockdown powers. California Governor Gavin Newsom responded with a tweet decrying Abbot’s message that said simply, “Absolutely reckless.” Of course, we know that Newsom is under heavy fire even from California Democrats and is facing a recall for irresponsible governance.

The end of the Texas lockdowns became effective on the 10th of March, and for hundreds of struggling small businesses in Texas, the change couldn’t be more welcome. The state-level executive order also allows county Judges to enforce anti-virus rules in the event the hospitals should be flooded with new COVID patients.

After the announcement, Abbot followed up saying, “Too many Texans have been sidelined from employment opportunities and too many small-business owners have struggled to pay their bills. It is now time to open Texas 100%.” Sadly, Abbot’s conservative electoral base has not responded favorably to the move. According to the liberal finance magazine, Bloomberg, he received zero votes in a presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, (CPAC).

However, new incidences of COVID diagnoses have dropped to just over 1,600 for the month of February, the lowest numbers Texas has seen since October 2020. According to Governor Abbot, the state has been administering one-million vaccinations each week for as long as they have been available.

While many have warned that this move will trigger a spike in new COVID cases, Abbot himself has made it clear that he is aware of the risk. He made this decision in light of the clear fact that the “cure” has been far worse than the disease. With the homeless population spiking nationwide and with suicides reaching an all-time high, it is clear to all that these unprecedented lockdown measures hurt Americans, and that there is no clear medical benefit to them.

Since the lockdowns started we have seen distinct evidence that lockdowns do not curb the spread of the virus. They only hinder people from buying healthy food and medicine, and from engaging in immune-boosting activities like outdoor exercise.

So, what happens next here? Texans get to live their lives. Pro-lockdown politicians may claim that a Bubonic Plague-level of death is imminent thanks to this decision, but we somehow doubt that will happen.