Rep. Dan Crenshaw: Black Lives Matter riots in Texas spreading the coronavirus – NOT the economic reopening

Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas’ second congressional district said on June 29 on Fox & Friends that the Wuhan coronavirus spike in his state is coming from Black Lives Matter demonstrators, and not from the phased reopening plan as some liberal news outlets are suggesting.

Texas is experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases, which Gov. Greg Abbott called a “swift and very dangerous turn” for the state. Over the past few weeks, Abbott says the state’s average number of new cases has gone up from around 2,000 a day to more than 5,000. Many are saying that the rise in cases is connected to the economic reopening plans that many states, including Texas, pushed through with – an assessment that Crenshaw disagrees with.

Texas, after a coronavirus spike of 6,545 new cases on June 29, now has nearly 160,000 cases. The state also set a record for its one-day increase.

Crenshaw pointed out that, if the average American were asked which place is doing a better job of keeping COVID-19 in check, either Germany or Texas, an overwhelming majority would say Germany because of the information it is being fed on mainstream news outlets. This is despite the fact that Texas has a lower death rate than Germany. The representative also pointed out that New York’s death rate is 20 times higher than Texas’, and California has twice the death rate.

Furthermore, when host Brian Kilmeade asked Crenshaw about the demonstrations and how some media outlets are attempting to downplay their impact on COVID-19 despite the fact that over 300 cities across the United States had some sort of demonstration, the representative said it makes no sense for the rioting to not have any effect. (Related: Rep. Louie Gohmert: DOJ should go after Black Lives Matter as a group using RICO Act.)

Dan Crenshaw and Brian Kilmeade blame Texas coronavirus spike on #BlackLivesMatter protesters, not the state reopening businesses pic.twitter.com/nJxwgcKrgH

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 29, 2020

“Don’t believe your lying eyes,” said Crenshaw. “Everybody wants to say it was a few people hanging out at bars that caused this. That’s not true.”

To make his argument, Crenshaw pointed out how cases were on the decline even after the state launched its phased reopening plan on May 1. Texas’ situation only began getting worse when the countrywide civil unrest began, and demonstrations started appearing in the state.

“The spikes happened after tens of thousands of people got together in close proximity. Again, there’s nothing wrong with saying that. That’s just the truth, and we’re just dealing with it now. It’s not about blaming anybody. It’s just about being honest with causes and effects.”

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how he and Natural News are very pro-mask while also being pro-freedom.

Texas had a handle on the coronavirus until the rioting and demonstrations began

Texas initially had a good response to the coronavirus pandemic. State officials announced back in early March, in no uncertain terms, that this new virus was a threat and that both Texans and their elected representatives need to take this matter very seriously. Travel restrictions were quickly imposed and mandatory quarantines were instituted for anybody coming to the state from high-risk areas, such as Louisiana, whose capital of New Orleans just had a serious outbreak at the time. Gov. Abbott also issued an executive ordered that encouraged people to remain at home and ordered nonessential businesses to cease operations.

The shutdown proved to be effective. Texas’ healthcare systems weren’t overwhelmed with cases, and on May 1 the state began its phased reopening plan after Abbott’s lockdown rules lapsed on April 30. Businesses restarted operations and stay-at-home orders ended.

And then, as the protests began a month later, the number of new COVID-19 cases in the state began to increase dramatically. At the beginning of June, Dallas and Houston, two of Texas’ largest cities, started reporting large numbers of new cases.

While previous infection clusters were centered around vulnerable populations confined in close settings, such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities, the vast majority of new cases are coming from younger people in some of Texas’ largest cities.

As Texas’ number of new coronavirus cases continues to grow, the state is shutting down once more in response. On Thursday, June 25, Abbott ordered the state’s reopening program to pause. Bars were shut down, restaurants were told to reduce their maximum capacity and gatherings of over 100 people became limited. Along with this, elective surgeries across the state have been postponed in order to save healthcare resources and to make room for new COVID-19 patients.

As Texas continues to see a rise in new COVID-19 cases, the state’s situation will only get worse if the rioting and the demonstrations continue.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

BBC.com

Reuters.com

HillReporter.com

TheConversation.com

ABCNews.go.com