Biden calls lifting mask mandates by two red states 'Neanderthal thinking'

WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden on Wednesday criticized Republican governors in southern states of Texas and Mississippi over their decisions to reverse mask mandates and other COVID-19 safety policies, calling these actions "Neanderthal thinking".

"I think it's a big mistake. Look, I hope everybody's realized by now, these masks make a difference. We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way in which we're able to get vaccines in people's arms," Biden told reporters from the White House.

"The last thing -- the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything's fine, take off your mask, forget it. It still matters," said the president.

Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned of a fourth resurgence in coronavirus cases earlier this week, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said on Tuesday that all state regulations would be lifted starting on Wednesday.

"Starting tomorrow, we are lifting all of our county mask mandates and businesses will be able to operate at full capacity without any state-imposed rules. Our hospitalizations and case numbers have plummeted, and the vaccine is being rapidly distributed. It is time!" he tweeted.

Also on Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced his state would revoke all state-imposed coronavirus regulations starting on March 10, citing lower case counts and the surge of vaccine accessibility.

华盛顿——美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)周三批评了德克萨斯州和密西西比州南部的共和党州长撤销口罩授权和其他新冠肺炎安全政策的决定，称这些行动是“尼安德特人的思维”。

“我认为这是个大错误。听着，我希望现在每个人都意识到，这些面具有所不同。拜登在白宫告诉记者:“我们正处于能够从根本上改变这种疾病的性质的风口浪尖，因为我们可以通过这种方式在人们的手臂中接种疫苗。”

“最后一件事——我们最不需要的就是尼安德特人认为在此期间，一切都很好，摘下你的面具，算了吧。这仍然很重要，”总统说。

尽管疾病控制和预防中心(CDC)本周早些时候警告称，冠状病毒病例将第四次死灰复燃，但密西西比州长泰特·里维斯(Tate Reeves)周二表示，所有州法规将从周三开始取消。

“从明天开始，我们将取消我们所有的县口罩授权，企业将能够在没有任何国家强加的规则的情况下充分运作。我们的住院人数和病例数直线下降，疫苗正在迅速分发。是时候了！”他发微博。

同样在周二，德克萨斯州州长格雷格·艾伯特(Greg Abbott)宣布，他的州将从3月10日起撤销所有州强制实施的冠状病毒法规，理由是病例数减少和疫苗可及性激增。