Tag: face masks

Oxford Professor: Official Data Shows Face Masks “Made No Meaningful Difference” to Infection Rates

University of Oxford Professor Jim Naismith asserts that despite England dropping its mask mandate in July and Scotland keeping its rules in force, official data shows this “has made no meaningful difference” to infection rates.

Naismith goes on to argue that new face mask mandates imposed in England today are “unlikely to have much of an impact” in fighting off the spread of the Omicron variant.

Despite flatlining case numbers and declining deaths, partly achieved because England chose to lift lockdown restrictions in the summer unlike many European countries, mask mandates are once again back in force.

Face coverings are compulsory in shops, on public transport and numerous other venues arbitrarily chosen by the government.

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NY Times ‘Experts’ Says Face Masks Could Become Permanent

The New York Times has published an article citing “experts” who say mask wearing is now “normalized” and could remain in place permanently even when the pandemic ends.

Titled ‘When Can the Covid Masks Finally Come Off?’, the article explores when it’s likely the restrictions will come to an end, but then concludes that mask wearing may never end.

The piece cites scientists who say the general public “should be prepared to put masks back on in the event of future surges” and that older adults should continue to wear them anyway.

“Do we all wear masks the rest of our lives?” asked Dr. Stephen Luby, an infectious disease expert and epidemiologist at Stanford University.

“Before the pandemic there was a stigma associated with wearing masks in this country, but I think it’s become normalized in a lot of places,” noted Dr. Linsey Marr.

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School Forces Unmasked Kids to Wear Yellow Badges

A school in the UK is forcing children who don’t wear face masks due to them having an exemption to wear yellow badges on school premises and in class.

Yes, really.

An email form the school, which is not named, was posted on Twitter by journalist Allison Pearson.

The school cites an “increase” in the number of COVID cases, despite the fact that infection levels in the UK have been flat or even in decline over recent weeks, as a justification for re-introducing mandatory mask rules.

“Those pupils who were exempt from wearing a mask last academic year will once again be exempt and should wear a yellow badge,” states the email.

The yellow badge is historically understood to symbolize a “badge of shame” and was imposed on Jews at numerous points throughout history to denote them as ethnic or religious outsiders.

While no one is comparing the treatment of Jewish people in Nazi Germany to kids being forced to wear yellow badges, the use of such a symbol is still odious and morally bankrupt.

“Does the school have teachers who know their history?” asked Pearson.

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New York Gov. Hochul: School Mask Mandate Can Be Lifted When ‘Parents Do the Right Thing’ and Vaccinate Their Children

The school mask mandate in New York State can only be lifted after parents “do the right thing” and vaccinate their children, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) suggested this week.

Interim guidance for in-person instruction, issued June 7, 2021, states that masks should be required in school facilities, requiring them to be “worn by all individuals in all classroom and non-classroom settings, including but not limited to hallways, school offices, restrooms, gyms, auditoriums, etc.”

While masks are not required outdoors, schools may choose to require them in such scenarios. 

Currently, there is no end in sight for the school mask mandate. Rather, Hochul is placing the burden on the parents, suggesting the they must get their children vaccinated if they want to return to a state of maskless, pre-pandemic normalcy. 

“If parents do the right thing all over the state, get their kids vaccinated. There will come a time when there’s no reason to wear a mask, that every child is safe. But we need compliance,” she said during an appearance on WNYW’s Good Day New York this week.

“And in some communities it’s stronger than others. So let’s get the kids vaccinated. I don’t have a date. I’m not going to prejudge this,” she said, failing to even offer a rough timeline and suggestion it all hinges on compliance. “There’s no way I can know.”

“I need to know how people are doing, are a lot of people getting vaccinated, or is there an early rush and then it plateaus and then half the kids in the class aren’t protected. That’s what I’m watching. I’m always driven by the numbers. So that’s why I can’t say, ‘on this date, we’re going to do X,’” Hochul added.

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Feds creating comic books to push COVID masks, fight disinformation on 5G and elections

Colorado voters perusing their Secretary of State Web site ahead of this week’s elections are directed in the “What You Can Do” section to a most-unexpected resource: a comic book purporting to educate them on “deep fakes,” “troll farms” and “election misinformation.”

If the tool isn’t surprising enough to voters, its publisher just may be: It’s Uncle Sam.

Since October 2020, the Homeland Security Department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published two “graphic novels” aimed at combatting what it sees as two dangerous myths in America: Elections can be stolen and 5G towers have a connection to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs said the comic books are powerful examples of ideology being placed ahead of security.

“When I helped pass the bill to rename CISA, the intent was to help the agency focus on Cyber and Infrastructure security, not establish itself as a comic book publisher or the Ministry of Truth,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Just the News on Sunday “This is just one more sad example of what America gets with Democrat governance: less security, more nanny state.”

CISA declined to say how much taxpayer money was spent on the comic books, but defends the work. 

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Gov. Whitmer Caught Maskless at DC Bar in Violation of Mandates

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was caught maskless at a Washington, D.C. cocktail bar Friday night, just hours before pulling out of Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe’s door-knocking campaign scheduled for the following morning, in her latest violation of COVID-19 policies.

Video obtained by The Washington Free Beacon shows Whitmer maskless in the standing-room-only section of the crowded bar at the Hotel Washington.

A hotel employee told the news outlet that bar guests must wear face coverings when not actively eating or drinking, neither of which Whitmer was doing. Several people congregating near her, however, were wearing masks.

The governor was also in violation of Washington, D.C.’s local mask mandate, reinstated in July by Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) amid a spike of coronavirus cases caused by the highly infectious delta variant. Restaurants and other establishments that fail to enforce Bowser’s order face potential warnings, fines and the revocation of licenses.

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Vaccinated Children Likely Still Have to Wear Masks in School, Surgeon General Says

Indoor mask mandates at schools will likely to stay in place even after young children receive COVID-19 vaccines in the coming weeks, said U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

In an Oct. 21 interview on CNN’s “New Day,” Murthy was asked how much the vaccination of children ages 5-11 would affect the need of having them wear masks in the classroom. He replied that those who are vaccinated may still need to wear a mask until the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) says otherwise.

“The CDC has guidance currently says even if you are vaccinated, you do need to wear a mask,” Murthy said. “That will likely be the case for children until the CDC changes it.”

He then advised parents that having their kids vaccinated “reduces the pressure” to quarantine them when they are exposed to the virus.

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Nevada Democrat Violates State Mask Mandate at Star-Studded Gala Honoring Chinese Billionaire

Rep. Susie Lee (D., Nev.) keeps violating her state’s indoor mask mandate. Photographic evidence obtained by the Washington Free Beacon shows the congresswoman partying without a mask for the second time in as many months, putting countless lives at risk with her irresponsible behavior.

Lee was spotted dancing at the Power of Love Gala in Las Vegas on Oct. 16. She wasn’t wearing a mask, even though Gov. Steve Sisolak (D., Nev.) imposed a state mandate that requires the use of masks in “indoor public settings,” regardless of vaccination status. Sisolak’s office did not return a request for comment on the reckless violation.

The ritzy gala, sponsored by Moët Hennessy, was thrown in honor of K.T. Lim, a Chinese-Malaysian billionaire. Lim’s company developed Resorts World Las Vegas, which hosted the celebrity-packed affair, where guests dined on “gourmet cuisine from celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck and Bobby Flay,” and could bid on “luxury auction items” such as dinner with Jon Bon Jovi, a chess match with opera singer Andrea Bocelli, and a Lamborghini. Other VIP attendees included Demi Lovato, Jordin Sparks, and A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys.

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