マスク着用義務解除は「ネアンデルタール人のような判断」、バイデン氏

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】ジョー・バイデン米大統領は3日、テキサス、ミシシッピ両州がマスク着用義務を解除したのは「ネアンデルタール人のような判断」だったと批判し、米国は新型コロナウイルス流行の抑え込みには程遠いと主張した。（写真は資料写真）
　テキサス、ミシシッピ両州は２日、各種規制を緩和しないようにとの警告を押し切る形で、来週からマスク着用義務を解除し、レストランやバーの全面的な営業再開を認めると発表。
　バイデン氏はホワイトハウスで報道陣に対し、両州の判断は「大きな過ち」だと述べた。「何も問題はない、マスクを外そう、なかったことにしようというネアンデルタール人のような考え方は、何よりもしてはいけないことだ」
　米疾病対策センター（ＣＤＣ）のロシェル・ワレンスキー所長も、両州の判断は連邦政府のガイドライン違反で、マスク着用義務の解除は時期尚早だと述べた。
　ワレンスキー氏は、「今はすべての規制を解除する時ではない」と述べ、「今後１～２か月」で新型ウイルスの流行がどうなるかが決まると指摘。マスク着用とソーシャル・ディスタンシング（対人距離の確保）を続けるよう呼び掛けた。
　新型ウイルスによる死者が５０万人を超える米国だが、ワクチンの集団接種計画が順調に進んでいることもあり、一部の州では不評な規制を緩和する動きもみられる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/03/04-10:59）

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday slammed Neanderthal decisions to drop mask-wearing mandates in Texas and Mississippi, even as Covid-19 continues to rage worldwide, with Brazil hitting record deaths.
Moves by the two US states to defy federal guidelines and ditch mask requirements reflect local frustration with restrictions when Covid-19 caseloads are declining in the United States and vaccine distribution is accelerating.
Similar unrest is widespread in Europe, where the Swiss government said a referendum would be held in June on the legality of government powers to order lockdowns.
In the Dutch town of Bovenkarspel, a suspected bomb went off at a coronavirus testing center, breaking windows but not causing any injuries. Officials called the explosion, which was still under investigation, a cowardly act of destruction.
The Netherlands has been shaken by riots against coronavirus curfews and the torching of another testing center in January.
Biden is touting a surge in vaccine production in the United States and says that by May, there will be enough supply for everyone in the country -- although it could take months more for the whole population actually to receive the shots.
But in the White House, he told reporters that this is no time to relax. More than half a million Americans have died from the coronavirus, and the toll ticks upward daily.
The Texas and Mississippi decisions were a big mistake, he said.
The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything's fine -- take off your mask, forget it. It still matters.
Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), echoed the warning, saying, Now is not the time to release all restrictions.
The next month or two is really pivotal in terms of how this pandemic goes.
- Greece, Brazil hit hard -
Increasingly, the now year-long global pandemic is boiling down to a race between the virus's spread and governments' ability to administer an ever-growing line-up of vaccines.
While cases are dropping in some countries, Greece on Wednesday extended its lockdown to March 16 and called on additional private health resources as it clocked its highest rate of daily infections this year.
We are at the toughest part of this pandemic, Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias told reporters.
On the other side of the world, Brazil reported a second straight day of record Covid-19 deaths, bringing the total to more than 259,000.
Brazil's biggest state, Sao Paulo, declared code red restrictions over the coronavirus Wednesday, ordering non-essential businesses closed for two weeks.
We're going to face the two worst weeks since March last year, said Governor Joao Doria.
Sao Paulo and Brazil are on the brink of a health system collapse.
Doria lashed out at his political rival, President Jair Bolsonaro, for the pandemic's latest surge in Latin America's largest country.
This is your fault. It's because of your denialism, he said, addressing the far-right president in a press conference.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic launched new mass testing at private companies to try and control soaring infection rates.
The situation in our hospitals is really critical. We have to employ all reserves to save lives, Health Minister Jan Blatny told reporters.
The government is in talks to receive assistance from other European countries including Germany, Poland and Switzerland, which have all offered hospital beds.
- US starts to reopen -
Fewer than 10 percent of over-18-year-olds in Texas have had two vaccine doses, but Republican state governor Greg Abbott said the vaccine and better testing mean normal life can resume.
For nearly half a year, most businesses have been open either 75 percent or 50 percent and during that time too many Texans have been sidelined from employment, he told a business forum Tuesday.
This must end. It is now time to open Texas 100 percent, he said to cheers from his audience.
Many Texans welcomed the move, saying mask-wearing was a matter of personal choice.
But the Democratic mayor of Houston described the decision as disheartening.
Iowa and Montana eased restrictions last month, and in Massachusetts, restaurants now have no capacity limit.
Some Democratic-led cities, such as San Francisco, are also taking steps towards a post-pandemic life by allowing indoor eating and museums to open with limited capacity.
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