Mask Mandates d/c'ed in Illinois

[George K]

I got a note from our condo association management that masks are no longer required in common areas of the building, reflecting a change in policy of the state government.

However, public schools, transportation still have the mandate because science!

I guess this is reflective of what's happening around the country.

So, what's different with respect to the pandemic?

Well, after the omicron surge, we're back to more cases than we had last summer, when the mandate was in effect.

Omicron is supposed to be milder than other variants, however the 7-day rolling average of deaths doesn't reflect that. Once again, that number is higher, MUCH higher, than last summer. By the time omicron became the prevalent variant, 65-70% of the population had been vaccinated, iirc.

So, I don't get it. It appears that the virus is just as prevalent, and just as deadly, as it was in June of last year, and CDC decides "Thanks to the progress we have made in the past year, Covid-19 no longer need control our lives."

I don't get it. Can someone explain this to me, and type really slow so as not to confuse me.

Thanks.

[Jolly]

P-O-L-I-T-I-C-S

[George K]

@Jolly said in Mask Mandates d/c'ed in Illinois:

P-O-L-I-T-I-C-S

Thanks for typing slowly.

"Declare victory and move on," IOW.

[Jolly]

Pretty much.

We can't shut the country down. Masks, unless they are N95 or KN95 and worn properly (which most people don't), are only slightly effective at slowing transmission.

People have also read quite a bit about questionable COVID deaths. There's a lot of difference between dying with COVID and dying from COVID. People know that the deaths are primarily the elderly with comorbidities.

Also, a significant percentage of the population has had COVID of one variety or another.

Lastly, people have COVID fatigue. They are tired of not going to weddings, to church, to a basketball or football game. They want quality of life.

If you live on the rural route like I do, masks got ditched about a year ago, even before Omicron. People have accepted COVID as a risk of everyday life.

The DEMs were on the wrong side of the polls...

[89th]

I think, similar to last summer, people are looking for any reason to end mask mandates. So with numbers dropping off so much after Omicron, and with the high rates of vaccination, plus…overall exhaustion with the pandemic (and knowing it mostly only affects old/fat people)… anyway that was a ramble but yes our schools here too have ended any mask mandates, same with work, etc. Heck, Airlines may no longer require them in a few weeks, although I would suspect that’ll last a bit longer than other industries.

[jon-nyc]

Last summer our mask mandate was discontinued. It was only re-upped in November when omicron came. And now it’s been discontinued at the state level last week, and NYC is ending it Monday.

[Horace]

Now all the sociopaths who don't care about other people can remove their masks because The Man told them it was ok. Sociopath sheeple. You will take my mask when you pry it off my cold dead face. I care too much about other people to ever do otherwise.

[Copper]

Mission Accomplished