California’s mask commissars are once again clamoring for Americans to cover their faces.
During the pandemic, Democrat leaders and health officials in the Golden State proved eager to condition Americans’ ability to leave the house and to perform basic errands on wearing a mask.
“Bring your mask with you whenever you leave your home,” said former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “That will help us get more freedoms.”
On June 18, 2020 — just over a month after L.A. reopened its beaches — the California Department of Public Health announced that Californians were required to wear face coverings in public spaces; when obtaining services from the health care sector; when waiting for or riding on public transportation; when engaged in work with other members of the public; and “while outdoors in public spaces when maintaining a physical distance of six feet from persons who are not members of the same household.”
“Simply put, we are seeing too many people with faces uncovered,” said Gavin Newsom — the Democrat governor who months later issued a statewide order expanding the mask requirement to most indoor and outdoor settings.
Newsom issued his order despite evidence that masks, like the COVID-19 vaccines, weren’t as effective as some proponents liked to pretend.
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Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
For instance, the Centers for Disease Control’s peer-reviewed journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, published a study in May 2020 that found “no significant reduction in influenza transmission with the use of face masks.”
The researchers stated, “There is limited evidence for [disposal medical masks’] effectiveness in preventing influenza virus transmission either when worn by the infected person for source control or when worn by uninfected persons to reduce exposure. Our systematic review found no significant effect of face masks on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza.”
‘I recommend that everybody in West Sacramento wear a mask when they are around others in indoor public spaces.’
Although Newsom’s mask mandate was partially dropped in March 2022, mask requirements nevertheless remained in effect for certain settings. Even a comprehensive Cochrane analysis of scientific studies concerning the efficacy of masks in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses, led by Oxford epidemiologist Tom Jefferson and published in January 2023, concluded:
Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of influenza‐like illness/COVID‐19-like illness compared to not wearing masks. … Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of laboratory‐confirmed influenza/SARS‐CoV‐2 compared to not wearing masks.
Aimee Sisson, the health officer in Yolo County, said in a statement on Friday, “California is experiencing a summer COVID wave.”
The CDC’s COVID-19 Hospitalization Surveillance Network indicated that in the week ending Aug. 23, the national hospitalization rate was 1.4 per 100,000 for those ages 0-4; 0.2 for those ages 5-17; 0.4 for those ages 18-49; 0.9 for those ages 50-64; and 5.1 for those 65 and older.
While the overall level of hospitalizations for the endemic virus is reportedly “low,” the Los Angeles Times indicated the number is increasing across the Golden State.
According to an estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 infections are growing or likely growing in 31 states, including California.
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Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
“Based on current wastewater levels of the virus that causes COVID-19, I recommend that everybody in West Sacramento wear a mask when they are around others in indoor public spaces,” said Sisson. “I also recommend that people in the rest of Yolo County wear masks when they are around others indoors if they are 65 or older, have a weakened immune system, have an underlying medical condition that puts them at a greater risk of severe COVID-19, or spend time around people who fall into these categories.”
The San Francisco Department of Public Health has similarly recommended “wearing a well-fitted mask when you are in crowded, indoor spaces, including when traveling.”
The California Department of Public Health noted in a social media post on Saturday, “Protect yourself and your loved ones by considering masking in indoor public places like airports and planes. Wear a high-quality mask like an N95, KN95 or KF94 to stay protected.”
The CDPH told Blaze News in a statement, “CDPH continues to recommend masks in certain situations and is not considering changing these recommendations at this time.”
“Local health departments may make recommendations on masking based on virus activity in their region,” the agency added in its statement. “Overall wastewater concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 are currently increasing, and it is not yet clear when wastewater activity will peak this summer.”
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Masking, Mask, Mask mandates, Gavin newsom, Health, Covid-19, Covid, Science, Politics
