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US President Joe Biden has criticized the easing of corona-related restrictions in several US states and accused the governors of "Neanderthal thinking".
"I think it's a big mistake," said the Democrat on Wednesday (local time) in the White House to lift restrictions in Texas and Mississippi.
Not until the end of May will there be enough vaccine to vaccinate all adult Americans.
"The last thing we need is a Neanderthal thought that everything will be fine in the meantime." It is "crucial" to follow the protective measures recommended by science.
The Republican Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, announced on Tuesday that it would lift the mask requirement and all capacity limits for restaurants and other businesses in his state.
The Republican governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, had also announced that all orders for the wearing of masks and capacity limits for restaurants and companies would be ended.
Other states, including Ohio and Michigan, have at least announced easing of their corona requirements.
Abbott and Reeves resisted criticism on Twitter on Wednesday.
"We are able to contain Covid and safely open Texas 100 percent," wrote Abbott.
Reeves criticized Biden for calling it "Neanderthal thinking" to let the people of Mississippi decide how to protect themselves.
The governor wrote that these people did not need any “carers”.
"I think we should trust the Americans and not offend them."
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The top immunologist and Biden consultant Anthony Fauci called the withdrawal of the protective measures "inexplicable" and "rash".
Fauci told CNN on Wednesday evening that months ago the United States saw the number of cases increase alarmingly again after some states had not followed the experts' guidelines.
The daily number of cases in the USA has decreased to 55,000 to 70,000, but is still high - and the decline has now slowed.
All developments in the live ticker