Daily Beast: “Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that he planned to end the state’s mask mandate and allow all businesses to fully reopen, even as the state lags in vaccinations amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. ‘It is now time to open Texas 100 percent,’ Abbott said at a press conference at a Lubbock restaurant. ‘Every business that wants to be open, should be open.'”
“Texas reported 7,778 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University, and 212 deaths; a steep decline from the virus’ peak in early January, when the seven-day case average regularly broke 20,000, according to The New York Times. However, the state’s high positive test rate – trending upwards – could indicate that not enough people are being tested, according to Johns Hopkins University. Among the 50 states, only Georgia and Utah rank behind Texas in terms of the percentage of residents who’ve received at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine, according to Times data.”