Free Republic

We just passed the fourth anniversary of “15 Days To Slow the Spread,” the start of the COVID lockdowns that did damage from which we still haven’t recovered. ... Anthony Fauci, Nancy Pelosi and Bill de Blasio were telling us not to worry, to take cruises and go visit Chinatown ... They reversed course like a week later. ... Neither the lockdowns nor the masking requirements did any good, though they caused a lot of trauma, inconvenience and colossal economic destruction. ... Then there were the deaths caused by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s program of moving still-contagious COVID patients into old-folks’...

A federal court dismissed a case Tuesday against Republican Iowa Gov. Kimberly Reynolds’ prohibition of mask mandate in school districts across the state, official documents showed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found “persuasive” the argument that “the general risks associated with COVID-19, even though COVID-19 remains an ever-present concern in society, are not enough to show ‘imminent and substantial’ harm,” court papers showed in part. The court also decided that “because Plaintiffs have only alleged the potential risk of severe illness should they contract COVID-19 at school, the risk of harm is too speculative to satisfy...

The imposition of mask mandates among school children during the pandemic did not affect the incidence of COVID-19 infection, according to research conducted in Finland. The study, published in the journal BMC Public Health on April 21, was conducted in three Finnish cities—Helsinki, Turku, and Tampere. These cities had similar baseline incidences of COVID-19 between August and September 2021. At the time, the federal government had recommended using masks in schools for children aged 12 years and above. In Helsinki and Tampere, the national recommendation was imposed as mandates at schools while in Turku, the mandate was levied on kids...

The federal government says the COVID is over — but tell that to this upstate New York school. A private school in Ithaca is still forcing draconian measures on its students, including making them wear masks outdoors and eat lunch in silence — three years after the pandemic began, according to a report. The Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School of Ithaca (EACMSI), which costs up to $18,000 a year to attend, is currently one of the last schools in the nation to still be imposing such strict COVID measures, The Free Press reported. Dr. Beth Stein, who pulled her kids...

Japan on Monday dropped its request for people to wear masks after three years, ... During a televised budget committee meeting at parliament, some lawmakers still wore masks, though Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wasn't wearing one when he arrived at his office Monday. Baseball fans who gathered outside of the Tokyo Dome hours before Monday´s games Australia-Czech Republic and China-South Korea also had on masks. They'll also be able to cheer without their masks as that ban was lifted, too. Dropping the mask-wearing request is one of the last steps Japan's government is taking in easing COVID-19 rules in public...

CDC said that increases in Strep A, flu and RSV cases are tied to lockdowns ... Leading US health officials have finally acknowledged that pandemic restrictions they supported may have fueled a boom in respiratory bugs currently overwhelming hospitals. Healthcare systems across the country have been pushed to the brink after an unseasonably high number of flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases with some pediatric units forced to erect inflatable tents to treat patients in parking lots. ... In a statement to DailyMail.com, the CDC said it was 'hearing from some doctors and state health departments about an apparent...

Flight cabin disruptions over masks .. are much less likely now. With a Biden administration mandate overturned, incidents are down 74%. ... The friendly skies too often resembled “season’s beatings” shopping brawls during the pandemic, as the number of arguments and even fistfights surged on-board. Viral videos of the flight-and-fight mayhem frequently had a common denominator – the federal government’s mask requirement. So it may come as little surprise that disruptions on commercial domestic flights have plummeted by 74% since the Biden administration’s mask mandate was overturned by a federal judge in April. The current rate is 1.7 unruly passengers...

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank said the city's vaccine mandate was invalid "to the extent it has been used to impose a new condition of employment" for members of the Police Benevolent Association (PBA), the largest union to which NYC police belong. A Manhattan supreme court judge ruled on Friday that cops who were fired because of the city's Covid vaccine mandate had to be reinstated. According to the New York Post, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank said the city's vaccine mandate was invalid "to the extent it has been used to impose a new condition of employment"...

A Louisiana federal judge on Wednesday permanently blocked the federal government from enforcing its mask and vaccine mandates for children and teachers in public preschool. The Head Start program, which provides early education to infants, toddlers, and kids preparing for kindergarten, cannot require that any adults or students in the applicable centers or daycare be vaccinated against Covid-19 or wear masks, U.S. District Court Judge Terry A. Doughty ruled. The regulation applied to children as young as two years old, Doughty noted, both indoors and outdoors during activities that involve close contact with other people. The court rejected the argument...

“It’s okay when we do it!”.. ... Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who ensured mask mandates remain in place on planes for Canadians, was caught on camera with his entire family disembarking from a private jet having not worn a mask. Canada remains one of the increasingly diminishing number of western governments that demands face masks be worn on flights, with the United States ditching the rule nearly four months ago. When a Florida judge struck down U.S. version of the law, Trudeau’s government moved to insist that masks would still be required on Canadian airlines and on flights that depart...

As California’s most draconian public health official, Barbara Ferrer of Los Angeles, threatens new indoor mask mandates, all other states are mostly ignoring whatever Covid variant is spreading. Why? Because while there may be more “cases” of Covid showing up, people just aren’t sick enough to be hospitalized. The symptoms vary from a mild cold to a full-blown flu. And that’s a raging inconvenience and uncomfortable, it’s a flu bug

The Department of Justice announced Tuesday evening the Biden administration will appeal Monday’s ruling by a federal judge in Florida that struck down mask mandates for air and Amtrak travel. “The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disagree with the district court’s decision and will appeal, subject to CDC’s conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health. The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. That is an important authority the...

Nearly two dozen Republican attorneys general issued a lawsuit against the Biden Administration Tuesday afternoon in opposition to ongoing mask mandates on federal transportation. In the lawsuit, issued by 20 states, the attorneys general argue the Centers for Disease Control has overstepped its pandemic authority and failed to give proper comment periods before instituting or extending the mask mandate. They also detail Americans have been harmed by implementation and that enforcement is arbitrary and capricious. "The mandate allows removing one’s mask for certain brief periods, such as while eating or drinking, while unconscious (but not while asleep), and while wearing...

Gov. Steve Sisolak on Thursday ended the state’s mask mandate, effective immediately. “Given all of these updates and the tools we have, now is the appropriate time for me to announce that Nevada will rescind our mask mandate, effective immediately,” Sisolak said. In doing so, he joined several other Democratic governors in states including California who this week eased mask policies aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19. The governor said masks no longer would be required in public spaces, but “there are locations where you may still be asked to wear a mask.” Sisolak said the federal mask mandates...

Nevada Governor ends mask mandate effective immediately, including in schools https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1491837869354270722

That headline isn't a direct quote, but it's close. The maniac in question is the CEO of the Prince George's County public schools in Maryland, who wants everyone to know that she is determined to force children to wear face coverings, for hours on end, every day, until COVID doesn't exist anymore. That's not an exaggeration, either. The epitome of anti-child, anti-science, wildly unrealistic "zero COVIDism," right here: The leader of a Maryland county school district indicated that students will be required to wear masks on school grounds and in classrooms until "COVID no longer exists." "I have not been...

The Washington City Council passed a resolution “regarding rights and liberty” Wednesday, making the council’s stance against mask and vaccination mandates official. Introduced by Councilwoman Kim Casperson, the resolution states that the City Council “supports individual choice in health care decisions” and that “as it pertains to the health decisions of Washington City’s citizens, employees, or officers, the Washington City Council does not support mask or vaccination mandates.” According to the language of the resolution, it is to serve as a clarifying statement that the council is committed to “liberty and individual rights.” Washington City Manager Jeremy Redd said this...

The iconic CBS Sunday morning news show “Face the Nation” edited out a network correspondent’s passionate criticism of COVID-19 policies for the harm they have caused children and teenagers who have a minuscule chance of suffering serious illness or death from the disease. Newsbusters reported the remarks of CBS correspondent Jan Crawford were axed seconds before they would have aired Sunday. “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan, in a special year-end show with a reporter roundtable, pivoted the discussion, saying, Well, I want to get to underreported stories as well, Jan?” Crawford immediately responded, saying her to underreported story centered...

Jake Tapper inadvertently admits COVID security theater.. CNN host Jake Tapper inadvertently revealed the security theater that is ‘COVID-safe’ after he tried to reassure people “we took off our masks just for the photo.” Tapper posted an image of himself and his CNN staffers for a “bake off” event before tweeting, “for anyone concerned, we took off our masks just for the photo, but generally we all wear masks around the office. also, we’re all vaccinated.” ... Apparently, COVID has developed artificial intelligence and knows not to infect people when they’re doing a photo-op. “Did you get everyone’s permission in...

More than half the wage earners currently working in the hospitality business are planning to quit by Jan. 1, according to new research.. Restaurants struggling to hold onto their employees are about to hit by a major setback, according to new research. A survey of 13,659 wage earners by the online job marketplace Joblist revealed that 58% of restaurant and hotel employees intend to quit their jobs by the end of the year, stoking what the researchers have dubbed The Great Resignation. If the pattern set by earlier quitters persists, a fourth of the workers will leave the hospitality industry...