'Absolutely Reckless': Newsom Slams Texas Lifting Mask Mandate

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom was quick to criticize Texas Tuesday after news broke that the state was ending its mask mandate. Taking aim at the decision made by the state's Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Democrat Newsom tweeted: "Absolutely reckless."

Abbott's decision made Texas the largest state to no longer require masks, which have been regarded as one of the most effective ways to prevent transmitting the coronavirus. Abbot also lifted capacity limits for businesses, though owners are still allowed to enforce their own capacity limits.

"Removing statewide mandates does not end personal responsibility," Abbott said this week. "It’s just that now state mandates are no longer needed."

Newsom further slammed Abbott's decision to lift the mandate at a news conference at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo on Tuesday.

"We are never going to subscribe to the point of view of some other states," Newsom said. "There was one large state today that said no masks, everything goes back to normal in the midst of a pandemic."

He went on to point out that Texas' positivity rate was "exponentially higher," as was its death rate, compared with California's metrics. "We're a little more mindful and sober of the potency of these variants and mutations as well," Newsom said. "A little mindful of the experience we had last summer."

President Joe Biden on Wednesday joined Newsom in criticizing Texas and Mississippi's governor for lifting that state's mask mandate, The Washington Post reported. "The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking," Biden reportedly said at a White House meeting.

Texas had a positivity rate of 13.5 percent as of Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The state has recorded 44,186 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

In California, the positivity rate was reportedly 2.6 percent over a two-week period as of Tuesday, according to state data. The state has recorded 52,775 coronavirus-related deaths to date.

North Dakota, Montana and Iowa also lifted mask mandates and eased other coronavirus restrictions last month.

The news comes just weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new mask guidelines and urged that double-masking could provide more protections against variants. The updated guidelines were based on a study that tested ways to improve how masks fit.

Absolutely reckless. https://t.co/3O5GsbSLpM
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 2, 2021

The Associated Press contributed to this report.