A number of states run by Democrats are curbing COVID-19 restrictions as new infections plummet across the country.
California’s indoor mask mandate, for example, is ending on February 15th, although the unvaccinated are still required to use face coverings.
The Golden State also plans on updating its mask policies in schools, according to CNN.
In that regard, California’s Gavin Newsom is following the lead of fellow Democratic governors in Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, and Oregon, who have already begun phasing out mask mandates in their respective school districts. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, said on Friday she’s asked “a lot” about school mask requirements and that she’ll be “making some announcements in the short term as we see these numbers progressing.”
CBS News provides key context:
Although the White House stands by CDC advice calling for universal school masking and masking in indoor spaces with significant transmission, it isn’t criticizing these Democratic governors and even seems comfortable with letting governors take the lead on making the transition back to normal life. Pressed on the issue Monday, [White House Press Secretary Jen] Psaki said the administration advises every school district to “abide by public health guidelines,” but said it’s always been the White House’s view that decisions should be made at the school district level.
“We certainly understand and have seen in polling that the public is tired of COVID,” Psaki said. “We understand that. So are we. And there have been some good signs recently where there has been a decrease in hospitalizations around the country and again, we’re in constant touch about what it looks like moving forward. But our responsibility as the federal government is to rely on the data and the science that is being analyzed by our public health experts, and we will continue to rely on that for what recommendations we’re making.”
The reversals come amid an election year, as Americans’ approval of President Biden’s handling of the pandemic has dropped and the country wearily enters a third year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Washington Post adds:
The policies are shifting as the nation approaches the two-year anniversary of the wholesale shutdown of American education, which unfolded with stunning speed. In early March 2020, school buildings closed for what officials believed would be a short-term pause. It took some more than a year to reopen.
When students first began returning to classrooms, masks were required in virtually all schools. But soon after, policies divided along partisan lines, with many Democratic governors directing all districts to require masks, and many Republican governors barring their districts from doing so. Many states have long left it up to individual districts to decide.
What’s striking now is the shift among Democratic governors toward allowing school districts to decide for themselves whether to require masks in their classrooms.
“We have to learn how to live with covid,” Murphy said Monday from New Jersey.
Over the past 7 days, an average of 270,344 Americans have become infected with COVID-19. The nation is averaging 2,687 daily deaths from the virus over the same time period.