Texas reopens 100% despite experts’ warnings of coronavirus variants

Texas on Thursday lifted its COVID-19 restrictions, including the mask mandate, on restaurants and other businesses. The move comes despite experts warning the “100%” relaxation of coronavirus curbs will increase the spread of worrying variants, reported AFP.

“It is now time to open Texas 100%,” Governor Greg Abbott said, announcing his plans to ease restrictions last week.

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Texas has seen the infection rate fallen dramatically since January but it still remains high in absolute terms. The state is the fifth to rescind its mask mandate in a sign of increasing optimism about the pandemic in the world’s hardest-hit country, the United States.

The US’ vaccination campaign against the deadly virus is gathering momentum, with 62 million people so far receiving one or more doses — about 19% of the adult population — and Alaska became the first state to open up the doses to anyone aged 16 or over.

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Meanwhile, the White House announced its plans to acquire 100 million more vaccines from Johnson & Johnson, giving the country 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,” President Joe Biden said, explaining the decision.

“If we have a surplus, we’re going to share it with the rest of the world,” he added.

Biden said he would launch the next phase of the country’s COVID-19 response in a primetime address Thursday.

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.