The media has made a fascinating pivot extremely quickly. After encouraging mass protests that violated every social distancing requirement on the books, they immediately begin blaming GOP governors for a rise in cases. That includes here in Texas. Don’t let the media scare you.

Our hospital capacity in Texas is well prepared to handle any uptick in COVID-19 cases. In fact, no health care system outside of New York City was in real danger of becoming overwhelmed. Remember: the goal of the lockdowns was to save our health care system.

Once we had enough data and understanding of the virus to know that our health care system was well-prepared to handle an uptick in cases, we should have ended the lockdowns. People understand that there is an element of risk when dealing with a virus without a cure, and they’re ready to confront that risk responsibly to get back to their lives. This isn’t about blaming anyone, but we must acknowledge that universal lockdowns were misguided so that we do not repeat the same mistakes in the future.