Republicans, on the other hand, pointed to recent images of President Obama at his birthday party in a similarly large unmasked crowd. “I support President Obama’s right to have a birthday party,” said Mr. Leach, who has introduced a bill to prohibit schools from requiring masks, in line with Mr. Abbott’s approach. He issued an executive order that prohibited local governments and state agencies from mandating vaccines, and reaffirmed previous decisions to prohibit local officials from mandating masks. The governor also affirmed that schools could not impose mask mandates for students; some public health experts warned that the ban could lead to another surge in cases. A vast majority of counties across the United States are experiencing either “substantial” or “high” transmission, according to the C.D.C.

Source: New York Times August 17, 2021 21:11 UTC