{"id":1426747,"date":"2022-04-09T09:14:36","date_gmt":"2022-04-09T13:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1426747"},"modified":"2022-04-09T09:14:51","modified_gmt":"2022-04-09T13:14:51","slug":"mask-mandates-loom-again-in-some-liberal-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mask-mandates-loom-again-in-some-liberal-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"Mask Mandates Loom Again in Some Liberal Cities"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmask-mandates-loom-again-in-some-liberal-cities%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1426747&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<div class=\"RichTextArticleBody\">\n<div class=\"RichTextArticleBody-body\">\n<p>Regional spikes in COVID-19 cases have raised questions about whether public health officials will reinstate pandemic-era restrictions \u2014 and whether the public is prepared to comply with them.<\/p>\n<p>Philadelphia officials are reportedly <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/health\/philadelphia-mask-mandate-covid-cases-20220406.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">considering<\/a> bringing back indoor mask mandates amid an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.<\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>City officials are set to announce the revival of indoor mask requirements as soon as Monday, according to the <i><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/health\/philadelphia-mask-mandate-covid-cases-20220406.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Philadelphia Inquirer<\/a><\/i>, as COVID-19 metrics hit the levels city public health authorities laid out for reinstituting restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>Two prominent universities <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/wtop.com\/coronavirus\/2022\/04\/johns-hopkins-georgetown-universities-reinstate-covid-19-measures-mask-mandates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reinstated<\/a> masking and testing requirements this week amid an uptick in positive cases among students.<\/p>\n<p>Georgetown University, in the nation\u2019s capital, brought back a mask mandate in public buildings on its main campus. The school\u2019s top medical official cited a substantial rise in COVID-19 cases among undergraduates.<\/p>\n<p><b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/appeals-court-reinstates-biden-vaccine-mandate-for-federal-workers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">APPEALS COURT REINSTATES BIDEN VACCINE MANDATE FOR FEDERAL WORKERS<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Georgetown students will also have to submit to COVID-19 testing before they can return to campus from the Easter break.<\/p>\n<p>In nearby Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University also brought back masking and testing mandates amid a surge in cases. The school will require students to submit for COVID-19 tests twice a week until April 22 and wear masks in dormitories, cafeterias, and classrooms.<\/p>\n<p>The high-profile <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/white-house-tries-to-project-normalcy-as-bidens-covid-19-bubble-bursts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">outbreak<\/a> of cases in Washington, D.C., has thrown the spotlight back on the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General Merrick Garland, <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-tests-positive-for-covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">House Speaker Nancy Pelosi<\/a>, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and a handful of congressional lawmakers have all announced positive COVID-19 tests over the past several days.<\/p>\n<p>White House press secretary Jen Psaki\u2019s defense of allowing President Joe Biden, who spent time in close proximity to Pelosi at an event just before she tested positive, to continue appearing in public unmasked quickly drew ridicule this week.<\/p>\n<p>Psaki insisted that Biden did not need to self-isolate because his interactions with Pelosi did not meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&#8217;s definition of a \u201cclose contact\u201d despite footage and widely circulated photographs that show Biden embracing Pelosi and kissing her on the cheek.<\/p>\n<p>The episode this week was a stark reminder of how volatile public health recommendations have been throughout the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>People have abandoned their fears about COVID-19 rapidly since the height of the omicron wave.<\/p>\n<p>An <i>Axios<\/i>-Ipsos <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/axios-ipsos-poll-covid-masks-spirits-rise-604dcb7e-cd97-4a36-b81e-25da149bb249.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">poll<\/a> published in March showed that 64% of people said the government should lift all COVID-19 restrictions \u2014 a 20-point jump from just one month earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Only one-third of adults in the most recent Morning Consult <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/morningconsult.com\/views-on-the-pandemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">surveys<\/a> said they are \u201cvery\u201d concerned about the virus. In December, nearly two-thirds of adults said they were \u201cvery\u201d concerned.<\/p>\n<p>By late January, polls were finding people ready to treat COVID-19 as part of the background of everyday life. A January Monmouth University <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/reports\/monmouthpoll_us_013122\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">poll<\/a> found that 70% of people agreed with the statement: \u201cIt\u2019s time we accept that COVID-19 is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some liberal cities and states have only enjoyed a few weeks of normalcy, however.<\/p>\n<p>Students in Washington, D.C., public schools were only permitted to remove their masks in the classroom March 16.<\/p>\n<p>Hawaii <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/world-nation\/story\/2022-03-10\/hawaii-to-lift-last-us-state-mask-mandate-by-march-26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">became<\/a> the final state to lift its mask mandate, doing so March 26.<\/p>\n<p>And other major cities have only allowed patrons to dine in restaurants or exercise in gyms without showing proof of vaccination for just a few weeks.<\/p>\n<p>The new omicron variant, known as BA.2, is regarded by experts as highly transmissible, although scientists haven&#8217;t yet said whether they consider it more dangerous than the original omicron variant.<\/p>\n<p>Under political pressure earlier this year as Democrats sensed the appetite for restrictions was waning even among their most loyal voters, the Biden administration changed public health guidelines in a way that allowed for most restrictions to end, even though COVID-19 metrics hadn\u2019t shifted enough to warrant it under the existing guidance.<\/p>\n<p><b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Republicans have seen Democrats\u2019 nearly two-year embrace of school closures and mask mandates as a powerful political weapon heading into the midterm elections. They&#8217;ve signaled plans to tie the party nationally to any remaining COVID-19 mandates, making party leaders wary of expressing support for any return to mandates.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Regional spikes in COVID-19 cases have raised questions about whether public health officials will reinstate pandemic-era restrictions \u2014 and whether the public is prepared to comply with them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1426747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1426747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1426747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1426747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1426747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1426747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1426747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}