Free Republic

In announcing new statewide restrictions aimed at reducing the spike in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Jay Inslee on Sunday urged people not to hoard “supplies.” “Buying up everything really hurts everybody,” Inslee said, “and there’s no necessity of it right now.” But while the man didn’t specifically call out toilet paper, the toilet paper sure did call to shoppers. At some Seattle stores on Sunday, in a throwback to earlier days of the pandemic, people were already buying up stacks of bathroom tissue, which seems to turn to spun gold when things look grim. Costco ran out of the stuff over...

Gov. Jim Justice announced a flurry of executive orders on Friday aimed at holding the coronavirus pandemic at bay — ramping up a mask mandate, declaring an extra few days of Thanksgiving break for students and delaying winter sports for schools. “Today, we’re moving to get more restrictive and do stuff,” he said. Adjutant General James Hoyer of the West Virginia National Guard called on residents to fulfill their duty by helping. “The governor is doing this to prevent the wave we’re seeing at other places in the United States of America,” Hoyer said. “We’re looking out for your best...

Teddi Pritzker and her friends openly violate her father's Covid restrictions. Theodora “Teddi” Pritzker was spotted at a packed table in violation of Covid restrictions over the weekend. Teddi, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s daughter, was photographed seated at a table for 14 at Chicago Cut Steakhouse. A Twitter user posted the photo of Teddi, who formerly attended Francis W. Parker in Chicago, and a closely-assembled group of friends. “10 person outdoor limit for thee....jb 18yo daughter didn’t seem to abide by her dictator Father’s demands while dining outdoors ... Following more restrictive rules imposed by Pritzker, groups of 10 or more...

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) is expected to reimpose coronavirus restrictions in most counties in the state on Wednesday amid rising hospitalizations and deaths. The restrictions, set to go into effect next weekend, will apply to 87 of the state’s 92 counties, which are considered to be at the two higher-risk levels of virus spread. The highest-risk red counties will only allow gatherings of up to 25 people, while the next-highest orange counties will permit crowds of up to 50 people, the governor said during his address. Religious gatherings are exempt, and any other events that plan to have a...

Once the CDC told Americans they could leave quarantine to vote, they lost the lockdown argument. And when we see Biden supporters by the thousands congregating, playing musical instruments, shouting, and singing, authorities will be hard-pressed to shove otherwise healthy adults back into their homes. So, this message from self-declared President-elect Joe Biden is pretty confusing. Especially if you live in Georgia, Florida, or any other state that has been open and operating for months: We cannot repair the economy, restore our vitality, or relish life’s most precious moments — hugging a grandchild, birthdays, weddings, graduations, all the moments that...

The state’s COVID-19 restrictions relaxed immensely when the State Supreme Court ruled against Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders. Now they are slowly being replaced by epidemic orders. Shortly after new epidemic order changes came down, 9& 10 News’ Eric Lloyd was able to catch up with Governor Whitmer in Mount Pleasant at a volunteer turn out event. They spoke about the changes coming to the Traverse City region and the state, especially on how she is able to do this, since many Michiganders think she lost her executive order powers.

Chicago's non-essential businesses will be able to stay open a little longer as the city takes on new mitigations from the state, including the suspension of indoor dining and bar service. Beginning Friday, all non-essential businesses will need to close to the public from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Previous restrictions had forced businesses to close at 10 p.m. "This will allow restaurants and bars that can no longer offer indoor service an extra hour of outdoor operations each evening," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office said in a release.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- New COVID-19 restrictions on indoor dining from Governor Pritzker in effect in much of the Chicago area have drawn pushback from suburban mayors and restaurant owners. The restrictions are now in effect for suburban Cook County as well as DuPage, Kane, Kankakee and Will counties. They go into effect in Chicago on Friday and Lake and McHenry counties on Saturday. A full list of the new COVID-19 mitigation measures is included at the bottom of this article. Orland Park, Libertyville, Itasca, Morton Grove and even Aurora have asked Governor Pritzker to reconsider the restrictions.

Pennsylvania restaurant owners who were fined roughly $10,000 for opening their doors in defiance of coronavirus restrictions have been deemed not guilty. A judge in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, found Taste of Sicily not guilty in its fight against the Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s coronavirus restrictions, according to Local 21 News Harrisburg. “The crux of the legal argument is that orders that have been issued by the Governor and The Department of Health are legally unenforceable. Judge Garvey agreed with that argument,” the restaurant’s lawyer Eric Winter said. The restaurant, co-owned by siblings Michael Mangano and Christine Wartluft, opened in May...

Interstate transfers to Melbourne blocked due to corona lockdown restrictions. Four newborn babies in Adelaide, Australia have died after being denied life-saving heart surgery due to coronavirus travel restrictions. Adelaide is the only mainland Australian capital that doesn’t provide paediatric cardiac surgery, therefore around 100 babies a year have to be sent interstate to receive treatment. However, due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions imposed by the Australian government, transfers to Melbourne have stopped and the babies have to make a longer journey to Sydney instead. “Obsetrician Professor John Svigos said four babies who had died in Adelaide in the past month...

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. are on the rise with 37 states seeing an uptick in daily cases over the last seven days. One of those states is New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo recently unveiled new lockdowns for nine "hot spots" where cases are surging. "What we're doing is we are targeting what we call micro-clusters, so when we see a small group of cases, we are the firefighters who rush in to stamp it out before it takes off," Cuomo told "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday. "So we have several areas in the state that are small, they're...

Yesterday, Candace Owens shared a crazy story about her inability to get medical treatment for her asthma attack. Why? Well, because of Covid. That’s why. Isn’t that the reason for everything insane in 2020? Owens explained in her video post that she is a severe asthmatic. When she was eight years old, she had a severe asthma attack and a collapsed lung. Owens, who is seven months pregnant, shared that her asthma and allergies have worsened during pregnancy. She was having trouble breathing and her inhaler was not helping her so she decided to in and see a doctor at...

the U.S. is still far from a full reopening. Many states have put a temporary pause on moving to the next stage of reopening, or have even reversed course and closed certain businesses again due to surges in the disease. In order to determine the states with the fewest coronavirus restrictions, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 17 key metrics. Our data set ranges from whether restaurants are opened to whether the state has required face masks in public and workplace temperature screenings. Read on for the state ranking, additional insight from a panel of...

SAN DIEGO – San Diego County’s Board of Supervisors met with legal counsel behind closed doors Thursday to discuss options should the county soon find itself in a more restrictive state tier which would force some industries to close indoors. The meeting comes just a day after the board formally requested the state remove San Diego State University and other local colleges from the county’s coronavirus case totals, a plea which was flatly rejected by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Riots and Covid Restrictions: Is it time to go there and ask the following questions? I'm no mental health professional but just curious. What are the Covid restrictions like and how long were the lock-downs and are the lock-downs still in place in these democrat cities where rioting is taking place?" Is this all partly the result of being locked down? I realize that yes the left, the media and the democrats support this and encourage it and incite it all but have many of these people become vulnerable mentally due to extended lock downs and Covid restrictions? Like to...

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has predicted that law-abiding Britons will defy the prime minister’s new coronavirus restrictions after months of witnessing far-left protests and illegal raves. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that because of a rise in confirmed cases of coronavirus, from Monday a new law will prevent gatherings of more than six people in public or private. Police will be given the power to disperse, fine, and even arrest those who break the rules.

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was asked Wednesday if there’s any chance she would loosen or change coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions in the state before Labor Day weekend, regardless of the numbers. You said you wanted to nip this in the bud before school begins, so does that mean we can expect not to see any changes or loosening of restrictions until school begins, especially coming up to Labor Day weekend, no matter the positive changes in the numbers?” Whitmer was asked. While the governor didn’t officially eliminate the possibility of more changes in the coming weeks, she hinted...

Official estimates say at least 15,000 people are taking part in the protests, which is being called "The Day of Freedom". Protesters held up banners featuring such slogans as "Corona, false alarm", "We are being forced to wear a muzzle". The BBC's Damian McGuinness in Berlin says some are from the far right and some are conspiracy theorists who do not believe Covid-19 exists, but others are ordinary people who simply object to the government's approach to the pandemic Restrictions in Germany include the wearing of face-coverings in shops and on public transport, social distancing rules and hygiene requirements apply...

People who resist COVID-19 restrictions are often accused of being selfish and caring only about their own freedom. While that might explain the actions of some, moral arguments can be made against many of the restrictions. Although simple appeals to “freedom” are indeed less popular today than in the past, we should not disregard them. Nearly all our responses to COVID-19 require balancing one concern against another, and individuals and institutions will come to different conclusions as they try to strike that balance.

Great news in California. If you can’t go to church why not head off to your favorite gay bathhouse. Gay bathhouses could have an easier time returning to San Francisco, after the board of supervisors approved an ordinance that would ease restrictions for adult sex venues on July 21 with a unaminous [this typo is not mine] vote.This will amend the Heath Code, requiring the Director of Health to “adopt minimum health and safety standards” for commercial adult sex venues. It will also remove decades-old policies that required these businesses to monitor sexual activities and prohibited private rooms and locked...