{"id":2011050,"date":"2023-08-24T16:29:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T20:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-variant-citizens-push-back-against-mask-mandates\/"},"modified":"2023-08-24T16:32:39","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T20:32:39","slug":"election-variant-citizens-push-back-against-mask-mandates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-variant-citizens-push-back-against-mask-mandates\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizens resist mask mandates in &#8216;Election Variant&#8217;."},"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\">14<\/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%2Felection-variant-citizens-push-back-against-mask-mandates%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=2011050&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 data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<h2>Americans Push Back\u200c Against Mask Mandates Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases<\/h2>\n<p>Americans\u2063 are\u2064 raising their voices against mask mandates reintroduced\u2064 by some institutions amid reports of rising COVID-19 \u200ccases\u2014with some\u2064 people calling recent\u2064 infections\u2062 an \u201celection variant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Aug. 20,\u200d Morris Brown\u200b College announced in\u200c an Instagram post \u2063that the institution has reinstated\u2064 its COVID-19 \u200dmask mandate \u201ceffective immediately\u201d due to reports of infections among students in the Atlanta University Center. All students and employees are mandated to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despite-insistence-by-democrat-politicians-and-medical-elites-empirical-evidence-does-not-conclusively-show-that-masks-reduce-the-spread-of-covid\/\" title=\"Despite Insistence by Democrat Politicians and Medical Elites, Empirical Evidence DOES NOT Conclusively Show that Masks Reduce the Spread of COVID\">wear face masks<\/a> \u2064for a 14-day period, with\u200d students required to observe physical distancing.<\/p>\n<p>Hollywood studio Lionsgate \u2062has sent a memo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/covid-19-mask-mandates-on-the-rise-again-5478388\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">asking<\/a> employees to wear\u200b masks after some of \u200cits workers were infected\u200b with COVID-19.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/new-variant-drives-up-covid-19-infections-in-china-authorities-now-downplaying-public-health-risk-5476983\">New COVID-19 Variant Drives Up Infections in China; Authorities Play\u200c Down Public Health Risk<\/a><br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">8\/24\/2023<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/2-calgary-pastors-ty-northcott-acquitted-after-court-strikes-down-covid-orders-5479395\">2 Calgary Pastors, Rodeo Company Owner to Be Acquitted After Court \u200bStrikes Down COVID Orders<\/a><br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">8\/23\/2023<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cEmployees must wear a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lionsgate-studio-re-enacts-covid-19-mask-mandate\/\" title=\"LionsGate Studio enforces COVID-19 mask rule.\">medical grade face covering<\/a> (surgical mask, KN95 or N95) when indoors \u200bexcept when alone in an office with the door closed, actively eating,\u200b actively drinking at their desk \u2063or\u200d workstation, or if they \u200bare the only individual present in a large\u2062 open workspace,\u201d Sommer McElroy,\u200b of\u2064 Lionsgate, wrote in the memo.<\/p>\n<p>Primary\u2063 care\u2064 provider Kaiser \u200cPermanente \u200bis now \u2062requiring staff, patients,\u2062 and visitors at its Santa\u2062 Rosa \u2064facilities\u200c to wear face masks.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Upstate Medical\u2019s two hospitals in New York reimposed mandatory masking following reports \u2063of an uptick in COVID-19 infections.<\/p>\n<p>Many\u200b people have begun pushing back against mandates and \u2062questioned the \u200dtiming of\u200b the rise in COVID infections\u2014with 2024 elections nearing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd just like that, the election variant emerges,\u201d author\u200d George\u200b Papadopoulos said in an Aug. 23 post \u2064on X.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI see the election time \u2064variant of COVID \u200cis \u200dabout to drop. Mail in ballots to EVERYONE! Lol. America no longer has free and fair elections. \u200dWe are no different than 3rd \u2062world \u2063countries in this regard,\u201d conservative political commentator Candace Owens <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealCandaceO\/status\/1694388355717353948\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> in an Aug. 23 X post.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hear that\u200c the Covid-19\u2064 Election Variant may be coming back. I Will Not Comply,\u201d Republican Kari Lake said in an\u2062 Aug. 23 post on X.<\/p>\n<p>The use of \u201celection\u200c variant\u201d comes in \u200dthe context of the \u20632020 election\u2014during \u200bthe\u2063 COVID pandemic\u2014when many states expanded voting procedures, including mail-in ballots, to accommodate lockdown \u2062restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the 2020 election, 69 percent of \u2062voters nationwide cast their ballot non-traditionally\u2014by mail\u2064 and\/or before Election Day,\u201d according to the U.S. Census Bureau.<\/p>\n<p>A Pew Research <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/new-rnc-ad-promotes-absentee-and-early-voting-5479451\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">survey<\/a> \u2062from November 2020 showed that\u2063 Democrats benefited greatly \u200cfrom mail-in ballots. While 32 percent of Trump supporters voted through absentee or mail-in ballots, this \u2064was much higher in the case of\u200d Joe Biden, as 58 percent of his supporters used mail-in ballots.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, some Hollywood \u2064celebs have started\u2062 promoting mask-wearing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCOVID is on the rise.\u2062 SO MANY friends now are really sick. BE MINDFUL. WEAR\u2063 A MASK\u2063 if required or even if you \u2063feel unwell and are \u2063out in public spaces,\u201d Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis said in an Aug. 22 Instagram\u200d post showing an image\u2064 of \u200bthe actress with a \u2064mask.<\/p>\n<p>Clinical psychologist Dr. Jordan\u2064 B. Peterson \u200dresponded to Curtis\u2019 mask promotion \u200cby stating, \u201cEnough medical fascism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStay at home if you&#8217;re scared. But leave the rest \u200bof us the\u200b hell alone,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jordanbpeterson\/status\/1694207465032745433\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> in an Aug. 23 post \u2064on X.<\/p>\n<h2>Rising Infection \u200cNumbers<\/h2>\n<p>According to data from the U.S. Centers for \u200bDisease Control \u2063and Prevention (CDC), there has \u200dbeen an uptick in COVID-19 hospitalization\u2064 in recent weeks. As of the week \u200bending Aug. 12, there were 12,613 admissions, \u2063which is double\u2064 the 6,313 admissions for the week ending June 24.<\/p>\n<p>However, the current increase in hospitalizations is far lower compared to the previous \u2062two years, suggesting that COVID-19\u2062 infections popping \u200bout this \u2063time may not be as severe as \u200cin the past.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>A COVID-19 vaccination hub at Central Falls High School in \u2063Central Falls, Rhode Island, on Feb. 13, 2021. (Joseph Prezioso\/AFP\u2063 via \u2064Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In \u200b2022,\u200d the week\u200c ending Aug. 13 had registered 41,113 hospitalizations,\u2062 which is more than three times what it was on Aug. 12, 2023. For the week ending Aug. 14,\u200c 2021, hospitalization numbers were at 77,625.<\/p>\n<p>The COVID-NET laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalization overall rate per 100,000 people was at 1.7 for the week ending Aug. 12, far lower than 9.2 in the same period\u2064 last year.<\/p>\n<p>The current concerns regarding COVID-19 have been triggered due \u200cto a newly discovered\u2062 variant called BA.2.86. The \u2064World Health Organization (WHO) said that the \u2064new strain is a \u2062\u201cvariant under \u200cmonitoring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an Aug.\u2064 23 update,\u2064 the CDC said that at least two cases of BA.2.86 infections have been identified\u200b in the United \u2062States. Existing medications\u2062 for COVID-19 \u201cappear to be \u200deffective with this variant,\u201d it said. CDC believes that an updated vaccine \u201cwill \u200cbe effective at reducing severe disease and hospitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this point,\u200b there is no evidence that this variant is causing more severe illness,\u201d the agency stated.<\/p>\n<h2>Government COVID-19 Testing \u2063Orders<\/h2>\n<p>Multiple departments under the federal government have placed orders \u200cfor \u200cCOVID-19 \u2062equipment, according to\u200c media executive Steve Bannon\u2019s podcast website.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Defense (DoD) has given a $1.5 million order to \u2064Hologic Sales and\u2064 Service for COVID-19 testing services, the website said, citing data from USA Spending. The\u2062 contract \u200bis\u2064 set to begin in October and \u2063end in\u200d May 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has placed a \u2062$2\u2063 million contract with Abbott Molecular Inc. for COVID-19 testing, with the contract set to begin on\u200d Sept. 22.\u200b It has\u2063 also signed a $1.3 million contract with \u200dBiofire\u200d Diagnostic for testing.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>People board a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-variant-citizens-push-back-against-mask-mandates\/\" title=\"Citizens resist mask mandates in 'Election Variant'.\">bus\u200c wearing face \u200dmasks \u2062amid<\/a> the \u2063coronavirus \u200dpandemic in south Los\u200b Angeles, on \u2064April 6, 2020. (Mario Tama\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Back in April, the Biden administration announced that \u2064it was \u2062spending $5 billion to develop more COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. However, the announcement did not mention masking or\u200b social \u200bdistancing.<\/p>\n<p>Masking has been a highly \u200bpoliticized issue ever since the pandemic began years ago, wi<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Americans are protesting against mask mandates reintroduced by certain institutions as COVID-19 cases surge. Some individuals are dubbing recent infections as an &#8220;election variant.&#8221; Morris Brown College recently reinstated its mask mandate after students contracted the virus, as announced on Instagram on Aug. 20. The measure is now in effect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":2011051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2011050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011050","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\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2011050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2011051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2011050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2011050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2011050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}