Wolf’s mask order inflames partisan fight over virus
4 years, 6 months ago

Wolf’s mask order inflames partisan fight over virus

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf’s more expansive mask order issued this week as the coronavirus shows new signs of life in Pennsylvania and the July Fourth holiday starts has been met with hostility from Republicans objecting to the Democrat’s use of power or even to wearing a mask itself. “What we’re disputing is by using his emergency powers, this governor is dictating it to people,” said Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre. “We live in a free society, people can make decisions for themselves.” Pennsylvania’s state House Republican leaders called Wolf’s expanded mask order “another unenforceable, unilateral mask order.” Five House Republicans issued a statement questioning the science behind using a mask to contain the virus. Rep. Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery, said many Republican lawmakers have been irresponsible, needlessly sowing division, creating confusion and using hyperbole “when we needed calm, responsible, unified, medically informed leadership.” “One only need to look at what’s happening in southern states that ignored the advice of medical professionals,” Bradford said, referring to spiking coronavirus cases hammering some southern states in recent days.

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History of this topic

3 GOP House members lose appeals over $500 mask fines
3 years, 5 months ago

3 GOP House members lose appeals over $500 mask fines

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Three Republican U.S. House members have lost appeals challenging fines for not wearing face coverings on the House floor earlier this year. On Tuesday, the U.S. House Ethics Committee released statements noting that U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Ralph Norman of South Carolina had failed in their appeals of $500 …

America’s unmasking brings liberation but also trepidation as huge questions loom
3 years, 7 months ago

America’s unmasking brings liberation but also trepidation as huge questions loom

CNN  

CNN — Americans stripped off their masks Thursday as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the sudden announcement that vaccinated people no longer need to wear them indoors or outdoors. The CDC’s decision to change the guidance for fully vaccinated people – which was a surprise even to White House officials informed late Wednesday – marks a …

Liberal talking heads turn on CDC Director for mixed messages on masks and vaccines
3 years, 7 months ago

Liberal talking heads turn on CDC Director for mixed messages on masks and vaccines

Daily Mail  

CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, was grilled by liberal hosts about the agency's mask guidelines, one day before it said fully vaccinated people don't have to wear them indoors anymore. MSNBC's Shep Smith, CNN's Chris Cuomo and The Daily Show's Trevor Noah all slammed the mixed messaging that has been coming out of the CDC in recent weeks, despite 45 …

Confusion over masks sparks new political showdown
3 years, 8 months ago

Confusion over masks sparks new political showdown

CNN  

CNN — America’s emerging limbo between a full-blown pandemic and a return to normal is throwing up new public health dilemmas that spark instant political fires – like a fresh round of grandstanding over mask wearing. Top White House adviser Anita Dunn Sunday defended President Joe Biden over his continued use of a mask outdoors – even though the practice …

President Joe Biden’s mask-wearing doesn’t *have* to be political
3 years, 8 months ago

President Joe Biden’s mask-wearing doesn’t *have* to be political

CNN  

CNN — On Tuesday, President Joe Biden walked to a podium set up outside the White House to announce the new CDC guidance on mask-wearing when outdoors. The key part of the guidance was this: “Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask outdoors, except in certain crowded settings and venues.” Which Biden paraphrased this way in his …

Alabama’s Republican governor extends mask order as her southern GOP colleagues demand end to restrictions
3 years, 10 months ago

Alabama’s Republican governor extends mask order as her southern GOP colleagues demand end to restrictions

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Alabama’s Republican governor called for “common sense” while announcing an …

US health agency orders travellers wear masks on public transport
3 years, 11 months ago

US health agency orders travellers wear masks on public transport

Al Jazeera  

CDC order comes as Biden administration seeks to stem high COVID-19 case numbers amid discovery of new virus variants. People across the United States will soon be required to wear masks on nearly all forms of public transportation, including planes, subways and buses, as the country grapples with high COVID-19 infection rates and growing concerns over new variants of the …

Opinion: What GOP lawmakers who refused to wear masks during Capitol lockdown need now
3 years, 11 months ago

Opinion: What GOP lawmakers who refused to wear masks during Capitol lockdown need now

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Jill Filipovic is a journalist based in New York and author of the book “OK Boomer, Let’s Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind.” Follow her on Twitter. “I am angry that the attack on the Capitol and my subsequent illness have the same cause: my Republican colleagues’ inability to accept facts,” Coleman wrote in the Washington Post. …

To Combat The Pandemic, Biden Will Aim To Depoliticize Mask-Wearing
4 years, 1 month ago

To Combat The Pandemic, Biden Will Aim To Depoliticize Mask-Wearing

NPR  

To Combat The Pandemic, Biden Will Aim To Depoliticize Mask-Wearing Enlarge this image toggle caption Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images It was Memorial Day when then-candidate Joe Biden made his first public appearance since the coronavirus shut down in-person campaigning. "Wearing one of these masks when you're outside is not a partisan issue," Biden said …

Face mask trial didn’t stop coronavirus spread, but it shows why more mask-wearing is needed
4 years, 1 month ago

Face mask trial didn’t stop coronavirus spread, but it shows why more mask-wearing is needed

LA Times  

Commuters wear face masks at Union Station in Los Angeles. “The results of this trial should motivate widespread mask wearing to protect our communities and thereby ourselves.” It’s not as if there’s no reason to believe masks can prevent the spread of COVID-19. “Use of face masks has emerged as a powerful tool to reduce the health and economic harms …

Can Biden convince red states to wear masks?
4 years, 1 month ago

Can Biden convince red states to wear masks?

LA Times  

In contrast to President Trump, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have consistently worn masks during the pandemic. Across the country, many GOP elected officials are still resisting public health restrictions, despite record-setting infection numbers and mounting evidence that masks and other simple steps can substantially slow the spread of the disease. “Masks and social distancing have unfortunately …

No face mask rule for Indiana lawmakers despite virus spread
4 years, 1 month ago

No face mask rule for Indiana lawmakers despite virus spread

Associated Press  

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers won’t be compelled to wear face masks as they meet next week at the Statehouse for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic was first sweeping across the country in March. The Legislature’s organizational meeting set for Tuesday will occur as the state’s rates for COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and newly confirmed infections have soared in recent …

Gulf between White House’s words, Trump’s actions on masks
4 years, 3 months ago

Gulf between White House’s words, Trump’s actions on masks

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — White House officials insist that President Donald Trump strongly supports face masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus and always has. Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said he’s “bewildered” by Trump’s ambiguity about masks. “Why we continue to have this debate about it is …

Trump calls for ‘a certain freedom’ to wear masks or not – and lies that Joe Biden’s coronavirus policies are ‘anti-scientific’
4 years, 4 months ago

Trump calls for ‘a certain freedom’ to wear masks or not – and lies that Joe Biden’s coronavirus policies are ‘anti-scientific’

Raw Story  

President Donald Trump tried to contrast his response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to the deaths of nearly 170,000 Americans, against former Vice President Joe Biden, who has called for strong measures far earlier than Trump ever did. Trump, in a campaign speech delivered under the false pretense of a coronavirus news conference, attacked his Democratic rival, and …

Biden calls for nationwide mask mandate
4 years, 4 months ago

Biden calls for nationwide mask mandate

Associated Press  

— Joe Biden is calling for a nationwide protective mask mandate, citing health experts’ predictions that it could save 40,000 lives from coronavirus over the next three months. Step up, do the right thing.” “Every single American should be wearing a mask when they’re outside for the next three months at a minimum — every governor should mandate mandatory mask …

Majority in Wisconsin support masks, worry about virus
4 years, 4 months ago

Majority in Wisconsin support masks, worry about virus

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — A wide majority of Wisconsin residents support requiring masks to be worn in all public places as concern about the coronavirus rises, a new Marquette University Law School poll released Tuesday showed. Coronavirus cases in Wisconsin have been increasing since mid-June and the poll shows that public worry about COVID-19 is also growing. Democrat Joe Biden held …

3 in 4 Americans favor requiring masks outside to slow coronavirus spread, poll finds
4 years, 5 months ago

3 in 4 Americans favor requiring masks outside to slow coronavirus spread, poll finds

LA Times  

Three out of four Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor requiring people to wear face coverings while outside their homes, a new poll finds, reflecting fresh alarm over spiking coronavirus cases and a growing embrace of government advice intended to safeguard public health. Blevins said he wears a mask in public because “it’s much more effective than not wearing …

Donald Trump has urged people to wear masks to fight coronavirus. Why did he change his mind?
4 years, 5 months ago

Donald Trump has urged people to wear masks to fight coronavirus. Why did he change his mind?

ABC  

For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, US President Donald Trump is encouraging the wearing of masks to avoid spreading COVID-19. Just before the mask tweet, Trump also announced he was bringing back public coronavirus task force briefings that were abandoned in late April when the President suggested injecting disinfectants to cure COVID-19. Not wearing a mask had …

Trump says he won’t order Americans to wear masks
4 years, 5 months ago

Trump says he won’t order Americans to wear masks

Live Mint  

President Donald Trump has said he would not order Americans to wear masks to contain the spread of the coronavirus, saying people should have a "certain freedom." His comments came after Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious diseases expert, appealed to state and local leaders to be "as forceful as possible" in getting people to wear masks in public …

What Trump’s mask can’t hide (Opinion)
4 years, 5 months ago

What Trump’s mask can’t hide (Opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM radio’s daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show” and a columnist for The Daily Beast. Trump’s campaign to undermine his own administration’s recommendation to wear a mask began that very day, at the very press conference, with Trump stating, “I’m choosing not to do it,” adding, “but some people …

Donald Trump says he’d have ’no problem’ using mask in ’tight’ quarters
4 years, 6 months ago

Donald Trump says he’d have ’no problem’ using mask in ’tight’ quarters

Live Mint  

US President Donald Trump, who has yet to be seen in public wearing a face mask during the coronavirus pandemic, said Wednesday he would have "no problem" doing so, while reiterating his belief that the contagion will just "disappear." "If I were in a tight situation with people, I would absolutely," Trump said in an interview with Fox Business, as …

Trump’s anti-mask crusade is coming back to bite him
4 years, 6 months ago

Trump’s anti-mask crusade is coming back to bite him

CNN  

CNN — President Donald Trump’s refusal to set an example by wearing a face covering, despite growing evidence that it may be one of the most effective ways to slow America’s increasingly disastrous coronavirus pandemic, was always a political statement. And he even said he couldn’t wear a mask when he’s meeting “presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens.” “I don’t …

Coronavirus: In change of tone, Trump says he’s ‘all for masks’
4 years, 6 months ago

Coronavirus: In change of tone, Trump says he’s ‘all for masks’

Al Jazeera  

After long opposing wearing a face mask, US president says he has no problem with it but federal mandate not needed. After long resisting wearing a face mask in public during the coronavirus pandemic, US President Donald Trump has now struck a different tone, saying he is in favour of the protective covering. The Republican president’s comments came a day …

Wolf expands mask order, wants new restrictions to be local
4 years, 6 months ago

Wolf expands mask order, wants new restrictions to be local

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration moved Wednesday to expand its indoor mask order to public places outdoors where social-distancing is impossible, while he also said that he prefers to let Pennsylvania’s local governments handle further coronavirus restrictions, as opposed to the broad shutdown orders he imposed this spring. that when we say, ‘we wear masks,’ that’s one way …

Republicans, with exception of Trump, now push mask-wearing
4 years, 6 months ago

Republicans, with exception of Trump, now push mask-wearing

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — In Republican circles — with the notable exception of the man who leads the party — the debate about masks is over: It’s time to put one on. Steve Doocy, co-host of a Trump-friendly morning show, “Fox & Friends,” said during an interview with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that he doesn’t “see any downside in the president …

US Coronavirus: face masks deepen political divide
4 years, 6 months ago

US Coronavirus: face masks deepen political divide

Al Jazeera  

Shouting matches erupt in the halls of US Congress after leaders mandate that lawmakers cover their faces in public. For thousands of people gathered in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday for President Donald Trump’s first political rally since the coronavirus pandemic erupted four months ago, a precaution as simple as wearing a face mask in public is not as simple as …

Wearing a mask isn’t political. It could protect my son’s life (opinion)
4 years, 7 months ago

Wearing a mask isn’t political. It could protect my son’s life (opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: René Marsh is a CNN national correspondent based in Washington. As more and more states lift restrictions and reopen businesses, there’s now a national debate centered on whether it’s necessary to wear a mask. Not wearing a mask says you don’t care about my son’s life or the lives of the close to 16,000 children who are expected …

Trump’s reluctance to wear a face mask sends a fatal message (opinion)
4 years, 7 months ago

Trump’s reluctance to wear a face mask sends a fatal message (opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Frida Ghitis, a former CNN producer and correspondent, is a world affairs columnist. The President retweeted a link to an article claiming that wearing face masks has nothing to do with public health, and is instead a path to “social control.” Frida Ghitis CNN The article is the kind of harebrained analysis making the rounds in the moldy …

Face masks make a political statement in era of coronavirus
4 years, 8 months ago

Face masks make a political statement in era of coronavirus

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement — a moment to pick sides in a brewing culture war over containing the coronavirus. While most other protective measures like social distancing get broad bipartisan support, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they’re wearing a mask when leaving home, 76% to 59%, …

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