After criticizing Texas, Mississippi for easing COVID restrictions, media silent as Connecticut follows suit
March 5, 2021
On Tuesday, Republican Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Tate Reeves of Mississippi announced that they would ease COVID restrictions in their states and lifting mask mandates. The decisions were immediately met with a stream of criticism from the mainstream media.
Vanity Fair lambasted the decisions and issued this headline: “Republican Governors Celebrate COVID Anniversary With Bold Plan to Kill Another 500,000 Americans.”
Forbes echoed Dr. Anthony Fauci’s claim that the rollbacks were “ill-advised” and “risky” and advised that the decision “will likely lead to another surge of new coronavirus cases.”
Biden himself slammed the decision as “Neanderthal thinking” and went on to say, “I think it’s a big mistake… It is critical, critical, critical that they follow the science.”
Filmmaker Michael Moore tweeted: “Texas – we hear you. You didn’t want to be part of our electrical grid. And now you’ve removed your mask mandate & are allowing large crowds to gather. We hear you! COVID is a hoax! So u don’t need our precious vaccine. We’ll send it to ppl who are saving lives by wearing masks.”
TV personality and New York Times contributor Keith Olbermann tweeted: “Greg Abbott to Texas: Drop Dead”
Yet when Democrat Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut announced that he would ease his state’s COVID restrictions, there was hardly the same criticism. In fact, there hasn’t been much coverage from mainstream news outlets or media personalities at all.
Beginning March 19, Connecticut will have zero capacity limits for most businesses. Texas, by contrast, still has a 75% capacity limit on indoor dining and gyms, a 50% capacity limit on bars, and an order to stop serving alcohol at 11pm.
According to Becker Hospital Review, Connecticut currently ranks No. 7 in COVID deaths per capita. Texas ranks No. 24. Florida, which has the second-oldest population in the country and hasn’t had a mask mandate in place since September, ranks No. 26.