Politics aside, Texas has not met the criteria for safe reopening because it hasn’t seen a decline in cases for two weeks, said Dr. Erin Carlson, an associate clinical professor in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at the University of Texas at Arlington. Even though it’s optional to don a face covering, the evidence supporting mask-wearing hasn’t changed.
“The disease has not abated,” Carlson said. “The disease is not done with us just because we’re done with it.”
Some believe the timing of Abbott’s announcement is suspect. Conservatives speculate he may have tried to regain support following his dismal performance during last weekend’s presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Liberals, though, say Abbott wants to distract from his failure to manage the winter storm disaster.