Posted on 04/15/2021 1:06:18 PM PDT by billorites
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire's mask mandate will expire Friday and not be renewed, Gov. Chris Sununu said Thursday.
Sununu said private businesses, cities and towns can still require that masks be worn, but the state will no longer mandate it.
He urged Granite Staters to continue to wear masks while out in public because the virus is continuing to spread and hospitalizations are rising.
"The pandemic is not over, and we are not claiming victory by any means," Sununu said.
Sununu said the decision to let the mandate end was based on looking at certain data points, including deaths, hospitalization and vaccinations. Daily deaths are down significantly from where they were in December and January, and Sununu said the mask mandate was issued in November to deal with the threat of rising deaths from a surge in cases.
After falling since early January, hospitalizations have been increasing again in recent weeks, hitting their highest point Thursday since Feb. 11. Sununu said there is no longer a threat of hospital systems being overwhelmed by COVID cases, but some hospital officials have told News 9 their facilities are full from patients whose routine health care management stopped during the pandemic.
Sununu said most health care workers have been vaccinated, so hospitals won't face the same workforce shortages they were dealing with at different times during the pandemic.
The governor said the state's vaccination program is proceeding well, and health officials said about 43% of the state's population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 25% is fully vaccinated. Those numbers are not high enough to provide herd immunity against the virus, but health officials said about 75% of Granite Staters have either received a vaccine or signed up for an appointment.
The governor said he is also prepared to relax other state mandates that are part of the "safer at home" strategy that limited capacities and imposed other safety policies on businesses and industries. As of May 7, the state will transition to a single, universal set of best practices instead of mandates.
Sununu said businesses will still be able to set their own guidelines and policies that employees and customers must follow.
They are admitting masks don’t work and putting the onus on others.
...and they will...that's the agenda.
White Man speak out of both side of mouth.
A little late.
Walmart, tear down your state mandate signs
Excellent. First salvo of sanity in the northeast. I’ll be driving through New Hampshire a week from Monday and will be sure to at least eat a meal there.
Yes. Good News.👍
“New Hampshire’s mask mandate will expire Friday”
Hey Sununununununuununu,
why did you do it in the first place?
What a d*ckweed
Not good enough. The localities and woke corporate retailers can still require them.
WHOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!
Finally.
It will be interesting to see how many sheeple still wear their masks while driving or walking alone on an empty country road.
People see me coming from 200 yds away, they stop, and they put on their masks way before they get near me.
Are they protecting me or do I scare them to death? I dunno.
At any rate, we're not likely to f**k anytime soon.
Breathe free or die!
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