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No More Mask Mandates Because ‘the Emergency Is Over’

It’s over, says Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

Colorado Public Radio’s Democratic governor, John Polis stated in a long interview that the COVID-19 epidemic has now passed the medical emergency phase. Polis said that vaccines are now readily available for anyone who needs them. He believes it is time public health officials stepped aside to allow individuals to make the decision about their masks. Polis refuses to reinstate a state-wide mask mandate, even with Omicron’s new varient.

“The emergency is over. “Public health, you know. [officials]Polis stated that they don’t have the right to dictate what people should wear. You don’t have to tell them what they should wear. It’s not your job to tell them what they should wear. [wear it]. It’s not their fault if they suffer frostbite.

Polis suggested that mask mandates could be used as an alternative to vaccines when they were not easily available. However, following science requires adapting to new circumstances. Vaccines have a far greater effectiveness in reducing COVID deaths and hospitalizations.

Polis explained, “At the point, you’re responsible if it hasn’t been vaccinated.”

Colorado has a number of local health departments that can make their own mandates regarding mask use. Denver is one example. Indoor masks must be worn even if the person has been vaccinated. You will need to take part in the COVID Theater, which involves wearing a mask as you walk from a brewery door to the bar. After that, it is time to remove the mask so you can eat, drink, socialize, and converse with people in your immediate vicinity. If I had to judge from my visit earlier in the month, the majority of people will agree with the directive but then they’ll laugh at it all if you ask.

It’s likely that there aren’t many people dependent on the words of governors and public health officers to guide them each day, more than twenty months after the outbreak. All of us have made our own decisions about what risk is acceptable and unacceptable, as well as which inconveniences will we tolerate when traveling, dining, or socializing.

Polis’ statements are important because very few officials will acknowledge that the obvious is true. Emergencies do not last forever. Emergencies are by definition acute and require extraordinary responses. While the pandemic continues to be a grave public health concern as we near the end of 2020, for most people vaccinated it is no longer an emergency. The time when executive orders were required to remind you to take a jacket outside in cold weather is gone.

Polis may seem to be breaking with liberal tradition by declaring the panic phase of the pandemic over. However, it is possible that he might be just ahead. On Saturday, New York Times A similar suggestion was made by the editorial board: “Leaders at all levels should pursue policies that help us all live with this virus more naturally, instead of allowing it to control us.”

This includes maintaining schools open at all times, eliminating pointless COVID theatre and promoting vaccines as the best way to protect yourself. According to the editorial board, “Even if we are vigilant against the coronavirus we do not need to stay in a condition of paralyzing hypervigilance.” We could all be healthier if we return to sound health basics, continue medical innovation and reduce the anxiety surrounding the pandemic.

This should not be changed by the Omicron variant. Omicron is preventable by vaccines. Thankfully, the complications that may occur are not too severe.

As we head into another COVID winter, what Americans need now is not more hectoring from public health experts or another round of strong-armed mandates and misguided restrictions from elected officials—rules that those same leaders have been caught skirting or undermining all too often. Straight talk is what Polis gave on Colorado Public Radio. The best thing to do is get vaccinated. The choice of wearing a mask is yours. How to deal with a danger that isn’t going away soon. The state will not (and should not) take on your responsibility to protect yourself and others around you if you are unable to do so.