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...

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...

Two Sydneysiders challenged fines for Covid Public Health Order breaches. Case was run by Redfern Legal Centre in New South Wales Supreme Court. Hearing did not go ahead when the government conceded fines were invalid. Commissioner of Fines Administration then withdrew 33,121 penalty notices . Thousands more such fines across NSW could now be found to be invalid. ... More than 33,000 people who were fined for Covid breaches will get refunds after two Sydneysiders won a landmark test case and the NSW government admitted the fines were invalid. NSW Revenue's Commissioner of Fines Administration Scott Johnson said on Tuesday...

Senate Democrats are privately conceding that Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti (D.) has no chance of being confirmed as ambassador to India, following sexual harassment allegations against his former aide. Rick Jacobs, who served as Garcetti's deputy chief of staff from 2013 to 2016, has been accused by a city police officer and former mayoral spokeswoman of sexual harassment during his tenure. The accusation has ensnared Garcetti in an alleged coverup and resulted in a lengthy private investigation into the matter. Senators who spoke with Punchbowl News said Garcetti's confirmation is now "withering on the vine." Officer Matthew Garza is...

Walmart said in a memo today it will no longer require fully vaccinated U.S. employees to wear masks at work. However, those who wish to wear a mask while working are permitted to do so.Driving the news: New COVID cases are plunging and the U.S. appears to be on its way out of this wave of the pandemic after less than two months, Axios' reported. And NIAID director Anthony Fauci this week said the country is headed out of the "full-blown pandemic phase of COVID-19."Details: “Effective immediately, fully vaccinated associates will not be required to wear masks while working in...

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...

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — The Douglas County School Board is set to vote on Tuesday to overturn the district's mask policy for students in schools. Currently, masks are required at schools because of a mandate put in place by the previous school board before the election in November. Now with four new board members decidedly focused on parental choice, the mask mandate will likely be replaced. "The Board recommends, regardless of vaccination status, personal and parent choice with respect to whether or not children should wear face coverings while at school," the resolution reads. It goes on to say that...

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...

A Colorado county health department has backed away, for now, from a plan to create what has been described as a de-facto vaccine passport system. The Larimer County Board of Health announced Oct. 21 that it had made its decision to pause implementation of the plan, “based on the feedback and questions we received” from the public. The voluntary plan is called the Vaccine Verified Facility and Event Program (VVFE). It asks businesses, churches, and other venues, to post a sign on the door stating proof of vaccination is required of all individuals seeking to enter the premises. The plan...

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) was seen without a mask at an indoor ball, just weeks after he implemented a mask mandate for school children. The Equality Ball, an annual fundraiser for Garden State Equality, a nonprofit LGBTQ+ advocacy group, took place Thursday, when Murphy, leaders of New Jersey Education Association and other officials were caught without masks. State Senator Holly Schepisi said that the maskless event is the type of hypocrisy "that is driving people in New Jersey insane." "At the very same time that this Governor issued another EO mandating two year olds wear masks for upwards...

The University of South Carolina reversed its mask mandate after the state attorney general sent a letter to the school stating that their policy was against the law. A state senator wrote a letter to the attorney general that alleged his actions were politically motivated. On August 2, Alan Wilson, the SC Attorney General, tweeted a letter sent to USC President Harris Pastides. The letter interpreted a legislative proviso, or provision, which prohibits discriminatory mask mandates on South Carolina university and college campuses. “The Legislature possesses the ultimate authority over health policy and has prohibited mandatory vaccinations and masking at...

Missouri is the birthplace of some pretty famous thinkers, writers, and leaders like Mark Twain, Harry Truman, and Rush Limbaugh. It also happens to be where I come from. So I sit up and take notice when I see media attack my home state as some kind of careless, irresponsible, backwoods ground zero of COVID when the people of Missouri and most thinking people across the country have figured out the latest panic porn from the CDC is incongruous with what we know, see, and understand for ourselves. It’s called the Show Me State for a reason. The nickname is...

Social distancing measures costing some businesses over 40 per cent of their normal turnover.. England is set to drop all face mask rules on July 19th after it was revealed that keeping such restrictions in place is costing the economy billions and will force many businesses to close. “The requirement to wear facemasks on public transport and in shops will be replaced with guidance advising people to wear masks in certain circumstances, rather than compelling them,” reports the Times. The decision follows the findings of an internal economic impact assessment produced by the government’s Events Research Programme which detailed the...

On March 17, American Thinker posted an article entitled "Mask Mandates Do Not Save Lives." By comparing COVID death rates in states with no mask mandate to states in which masking was mandatory, the article was able to show that, on average, states in which masking was voluntary had lower death rates than states requiring it. The difference was marginal, so the conservative conclusion was that required masking had not saved lives. Since that study did nothing to control for potentially confounding considerations like population density or age structure, more sophisticated studies of the question are in order. What it...