New York will drop its indoor mask requirement as Democratic-led states appear eager to move on from the Coronavirus pandemic, which, according to a recent poll, has frustrated voters across the political spectrum, according to newsweek.com
Kathy Hochul is expected to end the COVID mitigation measures on Wednesday, according to The New York Times, as a public health expert told Newsweek, “it makes sense to have an off-ramp mandate now.”.
Businesses in New York State will no longer be required to require customers to show proof of vaccination and wear masks indoors, except for when eating and drinking space.
There is no word on whether Hochul will extend or nix a separate mask law for schools that expires on February 21.
However, recent polls suggest that Americans are done with the pandemic two years after its outbreak.
Almost three-quarters of Americans were fed up with the Coronavirus, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) survey in January.
According to a survey of 1,536 adults conducted between January 11 and 23, 74 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of Republicans were “tired” about the pandemic.
A majority of Independent voters (80 percent) are also tired of COVID.
According to a poll by Monmouth University in January, 70 percent of respondents agreed “it’s time to accept COVID is here to stay.”.
Democratic-led states cite lower infection numbers as the reason for ending mitigation measures, following an Omicron wave that swept through the country in the last few months.
On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the end of the state’s indoor mask mandate starting on February 15, although local governments are free to continue the policy. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County will maintain its restrictions.
New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy, a Democrat, said students and school employees would no longer be required to wear masks, contrary to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.
In a reversal of the divisive debate over mask wearing in schools, the policy takes effect on March 7.
According to Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, the statewide mask mandate would be ended in schools and childcare centers as of February 28. Local officials would decide whether to require masks in schools.
Governor John Carney of Delaware announced that the K-12 mask mandates would expire on March 31. This means that just over a dozen states and the District of Columbia still require students to wear masks.
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There may be a winding down of mandates in other cities and states soon. If hospitalizations and case numbers continue to drop, Boston mayor Michelle Wu said she would lift the requirement for proof of vaccination.
“It makes sense to have an off-ramp for mandates now, and allow people as much normalcy as possible before another variant threatens to upend our lives again,” said Dr. Leana Wen, professor at George Washington University.
“Pandemic restrictions were always meant to end at the soonest possibility,” she told Newsweek, citing the rapidly declining COVID cases, vaccine protection and the fact that hospitals are no longer overcrowded.
Dems will be able to focus on issues such as the economy and personal finances after moving past pandemic measures in the midterm elections.
“There’s no doubt that, even among more liberal voters, patience for stringent COVID measures is wearing thin,” said Thomas Gift, Director of University College London’s Centre on U.S. Politics.
“The decision of many Democratic governors to relax rules on protocols like indoor mask-wearing in part reflects changing circumstances with the virus but it’s also a political response to general COVID fatigue,” he said to Newsweek.
“Democrats are staring down elections in less than a year, and few think that continuing to impose restrictive mandates has much of a political upshot.”
Gift noted that despite health and scientific arguments in favor of easing COVID measures, “Democrats clearly see the writing on the wall, and it’s no surprise that they don’t want to give Republicans more ammunition on this issue.
