More and more Democrats have called for an end to mandatory masking and other COVID-19 restrictions as new case rates caused by the omicron variant plummet across the United States.
Democrats have favored more stringent restrictions throughout the pandemic, but they are increasingly aware that the public is fatigued and ready to pivot from an emergency footing to one in which the coronavirus is tolerated as a part of regular life. Several Democratic governors in recent days have set end dates for mask-related restrictions and have been applauded by national Democrats.
CALIFORNIA TO END INDOOR MASK MANDATE FEB. 15
“In virtually every state there are dramatic declines in COVID cases and hospitalizations,” said Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California. “That’s good news. It also means policies need to change to reflect the change in data. Pleased to see Governors starting to lift pandemic restrictions.”
By easing restrictions and mandates, Democratic states will be coming into closer alignment with GOP-led states, such as Florida and Texas. Those red states have spurned such measures since early in the pandemic, and their leaders, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have argued they were not justified and harmful even before the omicron variant hit. In Virginia, Glenn Youngkin won the governorship on a promise to ease restrictions, and he has ordered that school districts allow children to opt out of wearing masks.
Conservatives pounced on Democrats’ admissions that it was time to lift the mandates, especially those in schools that affect young children’s development. The libertarian advocacy group FreedomWorks said Monday that “the Dems are coming to terms with the fact that their two year long campaign of spreading divisive fear and lies about #covid is OVER.”
South Carolina Republican Ralph Norman said Monday that the Democrats’ intentions are to boost their chances of maintaining federal majorities come November.
“Funny how Democrats across the country are getting rid of mask mandates all at once,” Norman said. “It’s like there’s an election coming soon.”
New COVID-19 cases have fallen 62% nationwide over the past two weeks, according to a tracker maintained by the New York Times. After nearly two full years of enduring the pandemic, most people have been exposed to the pathogen. Much or most of the unvaccinated population is now thought to have some degree of immunity, a strong shield of protection against serious sickness.
“We all sense that we are at a transition point, and from the perspective of just on the ground, rates of new infections are dropping and the vast majority in this country, pretty darn soon, will either have been vaccinated or infected or both, giving us all some degree of immunity. So by that measure, it feels like we should start relaxing,” said Washington Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier.
A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published last month reported that people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 with a history of infection were best protected against infection from the previously dominant delta variant. To date, more than three-quarters of people in the U.S. above the age of 5 have gotten at least one shot.
Lieu has increased pressure on federal health officials to “factor in natural immunity, not just vaccination rates” in their consideration of lifting widespread masking recommendations. Many Republicans, such as Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, have pressured the Biden administration to acknowledge natural immunity as a suitable form of protection as an alternative to vaccination.
The volume of patients in hospitals has also fallen about 27% in the past two weeks, though about 115,000 patients are currently being treated for COVID-19. Schrier, who said the hospitals she has visited in her district are “buckling” under the weight of so many patients, would like to wait for admissions to slow before phasing out mask mandates.
“I would say we’re really, really close,” Schrier told the Washington Examiner. “But let’s let our hospitals get a little breathing room where they’re not having a jockey every day to find a bed for somebody somewhere in the state.”
Several Democratic governors who have been hawkish on COVID-19 safety protocols announced Monday that they would take steps to loosen state mask mandates in the coming weeks. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, for instance, set March 7 as the expiration date for mandatory masking in schools and daycare centers.
“We are not going to manage COVID to zero. We have to learn how to live with COVID as we move from a pandemic to an endemic phase of this virus,” Murphy said Monday.
Delaware Gov. John Carney announced Monday that the state’s universal indoor mask mandate would end on Friday and that school mask mandates would expire March 31, saying, “We’re in a much better place than we were several weeks ago.”
Carney justified the delay in ending the mask mandate for schools by saying that it would allow for more time to increase vaccinations in young children 5 and older. In Delaware, about 30% of children between the ages of 5 and 11 have received at least one shot, slightly lower than the national percentage of children in that age group who have received at least one dose.
Also on Monday, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced that starting Feb. 28, the state would no longer require widespread masking in schools. Decisions on whether to mandate masks will fall to school districts, he said. In Oregon, health officials said Monday that indoor mask requirements in public places and schools would end on March 31.
California officials also announced Monday that the state’s indoor mask mandate would expire on Feb. 15 for people vaccinated against COVID-19. Unvaccinated people, however, would be required to wear a mask indoors. All people, regardless of vaccination status, would be required to wear one in higher-risk areas, such as public transit and nursing homes.
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Many states that have lifted statewide mask mandates, such as California and Hawaii, continue to allow county governments to keep such mandates in place depending on the rate of community spread of COVID-19. The same goes for business capacity limits. Individual counties can decide based on the situation in their communities whether to impose gathering limits on social events. In Hawaii County, Hawaii, for instance, a maximum of 100 people can gather outdoors, while no more than 10 people can gather indoors.
Democrats in Congress face a steep uphill battle in November as the public’s faith in the party to end the pandemic and tamp down inflation erodes. Republicans have painted their rivals as the party of lockdowns, a label that Democrats are trying to shed.
A majority of voters have accepted that COVID-19 is not going anywhere any time soon. Two out of 3 people do not believe that COVID-19 will be eradicated in the next year, according to a new Axios/Ipsos poll. Slightly over 1 in 5 believe life should go on as normal without any restrictions, such as mandatory masking, while 29% overall called for a “move towards opening up, but still take some precautions.”
