The first thing I’ll say is that if you want to wear a mask, go for it. You do you. If you feel more comfortable with it on, that’s your decision, and people should respect it. I think they never should have done away with social distancing rules. I still practice this, and really, really dislike shaking hands with people I do not know. I will find a reason to immediately go wash my hands if I can’t get away with motioning that I don’t shake, giving a warm fist bump or elbow. I will make fun of you if the mask you’re voluntarily wearing is no on correctly, if you’re removing it to talk to someone, or wearing it in your car alone. Or outside.
Are we really done with masking?
When a teacher in Las Vegas told her students last month that they no longer had to wear masks in keeping with the state’s new rules, the classroom erupted in cheers. Mask mandates are falling across the country, leading to similar expressions of relief — as well as warnings that such celebrations are premature.
Judging by the speed with which even cautious Democrats are casting off mandates, it appears that these warnings are not being heeded. Last week the attending physician of the U.S. Capitol said that masking was no longer required, meaning that when President Biden delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday night, it will likely be before a sea of visible human faces — with some KN95s and surgical masks surely sprinkled in between. (big snip)
A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows a sudden swell of optimism about COVID-19, as well as the biggest decline between surveys in concerns about the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic. Only 47 percent of Americans now say they are at least somewhat worried about the virus, down from 55 percent in early February, the lowest share to date. A majority of Americans (55 percent) now think the worst of the pandemic has passed, up 9 points since early February.
As fears of the virus wane, people are simply masking less in response. Just 53 percent of Americans, for instance, now say they wore a mask always or most of the time over the past seven days, down 9 points (from 62 percent) since early February. And America’s masking rate will likely decline further in the coming weeks, as the Yahoo News/YouGov poll was mostly conducted before the CDC issued its new guidance and the latest states relaxed their mandates.
The poll was taken February 24-27, so, I would have been in that spot of wearing a mask all the time while indoors at work, since the mandate for Raleigh wasn’t removed till 5pm on Friday the 25th. I would wear it if I was running in someplace that required/asked, no big deal for 10 minutes. If employees weren’t wearing correctly, mine comes off. I do not wear at the gym.
As for the government mask mandates, just 38 percent of Americans say that it is “too soon to stop requiring masks inside.” Far more (50 percent) either believe that “it is the right time to stop requiring masks inside” (19 percent), that “masks have been required inside for too long” (14 percent) or that “masks should never have been required inside” (17 percent).
Especially since it has been shown again and again that cloth masks/surgical masks make almost no difference. Why did so many of us get the vaccine to be forced to wear a mask, including when we’re sitting alone at a desk with no one within 30 feet?
Pelosi suddenly thinks it's OK if people make their own judgement on masking https://t.co/vrTU19YZN2
— William Teach2 ??????? #refuseresist (@WTeach2) March 1, 2022
Her specific quote
Pelosi said, “No, I’m not going to be wearing a mask tonight. If I had little children or were around little grandchildren, I would because some of them would not be vaccinated. Or if I were around a person or I was a person with some kind of a condition that would make me susceptible to it. I think people have to use their judgment about it. But I do think that if people make their own judgment, I’m making my own judgment, that I won’t be wearing a mask tonight.”
Well, that’s strange, right? I have coworkers who are making their own judgement to wear a mask at work. That’s their decision. Suddenly, Democrats are for personal judgement. What changed? (polling)
As a sidebar, the poll also has Joe at 41% approve, 53% disapprove. And only 15% strongly approve, with 39% strongly disapproving. Only 35% of Democrats strongly approve. And just 8% of Independents. 44% of Independents strong disapprove.
He’s underwater on his COVID response, the economy, foreign policy, race, and so much more. There’s a lot in there.
Three-quarters of Americans believe the U.S. ought to participate in international efforts to address climate change, but a majority remain pessimistic about those efforts.
President Joe Biden declared Tuesday that “it’s time for Americans to get back to work” as he announced new efforts to allow people to return to normal activities safely after two years of pandemic disruptions.
Sometimes, Bruce C. Glavovic feels so proud to be an environmental scientist, studying coastal planning and teaching future researchers, that it moves him to tears.
Russia’s publicly announced nuclear alert has turned the Ukraine war from a crisis involving nuclear powers to an actual nuclear crisis.
