AUSTIN — Governor Abbott lifted all state-wide COVID-19 protections, effective next Wednesday, during a press conference he hosted Tuesday afternoon in Lubbock. The State of Texas was one of the last states to put restrictions in place to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and was also one of the first states to lift restrictions in the Spring of 2020.

Texas has vaccinated only 6.5 percent of its population and will soon be 100 percent open.

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa issued a statement:

“What Abbott is doing is extraordinarily dangerous. He is the worst Governor in modern Texas history. This will kill Texans. Our country’s infectious disease specialists have warned that we should not put our guard down even as we make progress towards vaccinations. Abbott doesn’t care.

“On this Texas Independence Day, once again Abbott’s actions are made independent of logic or reason. From leaving Texans to literally freeze to death, to letting a deadly virus have an open season on our residents, Governor Abbott has proven many times over that he neither understands the struggles of everyday Texans, nor does he care about doing his basic duty to protect them.

“What Abbott calls pro-business is anti-people. Make no mistake: opening Texas prematurely will only lead to faster COVID spread, more sickness and overcrowding in our hospitals, and unnecessary deaths. There is no economic recovery without beating the coronavirus pandemic. This will set us back, not move us forward.

“Abbott removing a statewide mandate while preaching personal responsibility to prevent the spread of COVID is an abdication of his own personal and professional responsibility to keep Texans safe.

“By removing all previous state mandates and opening the state to 100 percent, Governor Abbott, who has never taken this pandemic seriously, is doing what he does best: leaving Texans to fend for themselves.”