National Post ePaper

WHITE HOUSE TO FLORIDA, TEXAS: HELP OR ‘GET OUT OF’ WAY

The White House on Tuesday urged Republican leaders in Florida and Texas to follow public health guidelines on the pandemic or “get out of the way” as the United States struggles to contain the spread of the Delta variant. Florida Gov. Ron Desantis on Friday issued an order blocking mask mandates in the state’s schools. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also has opposed strict restrictions in his state. “If you are not going to be a part of the solution, if you are not going to be a part of saving people’s lives, then get out of the way and let other people do the job,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday, previewing later remarks by President Joe Biden, a Democrat. One-in-three new COVID-19 cases nationwide occurred in Florida and Texas in the past week, White House pandemic response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters on Monday. As of Saturday, there were about 72,000 new COVID-19 cases per day in the United States, a 44 per cent increase over the previous week and higher than the peak in the summer of 2020.

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2021-08-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-08-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

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