Being a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, it boggles my mind how people keep voting Democrats into office. Between the repeated corruption and incompetence, it’s hard to find anything the city’s leaders do that benefits anyone. Things are so bad that it often feels as though the city government is a comedy troupe deliberately making every wrong choice to amuse an audience — except there’s no audience, and this is real life. Philadelphia’s recent decision to impose a new mask mandate is the latest example of this comedy of errors because there are no scientific data supporting this decision.
Philadelphia has gone from “trust the science” to “create the science” with this new masking mandate. The decision defies every medical recommendation and suggestion for masking. It even goes against the latest masking recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, Philadelphia Democrats undermined the CDC.
Consider that the CDC broke down the COVID-19 protocol suggestions by county into three categories: high-risk, medium-risk, and low-risk areas. If a county is listed as a high-risk area, people are advised to wear masks. If a county is in a medium-risk area, wearing a mask is optional, depending on an individual’s health. If a county is in a low-risk area, masks are not recommended. Philadelphia is a low-risk area, according to the latest CDC data.
Furthermore, the Twitter account for the city’s renowned Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s PolicyLab publicly commented on a potential return to masking. It concluded that the scientific data show that wearing masks is not necessary at the moment.
“It is important for those living in the north to anticipate some increased transmission over the next couple of weeks so high-risk individuals can alter routines & #masking, but our team advises against required masking given that hospital capacity is good,” PolicyLabCHOP tweeted. “Our COVID-Lab experts expect, like last year, that this brief period of transmission will subside later in April, once the holidays and spring break are over and as the weather warms in the north.”
For months, Philadelphia officials lauded the CDC and stressed the importance of adhering to its recommendations. But, now, that has inexplicably changed. Are Philadelphia government officials smarter than the CDC? Smarter than the medical professionals at CHOP? This decision wasn’t based on trusting the science. It’s nothing more than needless government overreach.
The city’s mandate is to go into effect on April 18, and it’s indicative of why masks are so polarizing. It legitimizes claims that government officials don’t know what they are doing and make decisions predicated on exercising their authority, not medical research. Why would anyone in Philadelphia listen to the CDC after this mandate?
If Philadelphia Democrats listened to the CDC, the experts, and followed the science as they claimed, it wouldn’t be going into effect at all. And, if Philadelphia Democrats don’t trust the science, why should any Philadelphian?
