‘Neanderthal thinking’: Biden slams Mississippi for ending COVID mask mandate

President Joe Biden criticized Mississippi and Texas for ending their COVID-19 mask mandates, calling the decision “neanderthal thinking.”

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced Tuesday he is lifting a statewide mask mandate put in place to control the spread of the coronavirus, citing falling case numbers. The order goes into effect 5 p.m. on March 3 but does not apply to K-12 schools and indoor arenas.

Hours earlier, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas also reversed his state’s mask mandate, saying “it is now time to open Texas 100%,” the Fort-Worth Star Telegram reported.

“I think it’s a big mistake,” Biden said during a Wednesday press conference in the Oval Office, where he also discussed other health-related goals of his administration.

While coronavirus activity is declining nationwide — and more Americans are being vaccinated against the disease every day — Bidgen said it’s no time for the country to drop its guard.

“The last thing we need is neanderthal thinking that … everything’s fine, take off your mask and forget it. [Mask use] still matters,” he said.

Biden pointed to the still-growing death toll of over 518,000 Americans killed by the virus as of Wednesday.

The country is still vulnerable, he said, and will be for months.

“We’re going to lose thousands more.... We’ll not have everybody vaccinated until sometime in the summer.”

“I signed what I expect will be one of my last executive orders regarding COVID-19,” Reeves said during Tuesday’s announcement.

“The governor’s office is getting out of the business of telling people what they can and cannot do.”