In a comically absurd policy reversal that seems to be driven by panic over upcoming elections, the city of Philadelphia is ending its mask mandate within days of bringing it back.
The whiplash decision, reported by Fox News, encapsulates the arbitrary and capricious nature of more than two years of pandemic theater that Democrats have forced on the country.
In sharp reversal, Philly drops mask mandate
The city, which recently got hit with a wave of the virus, pointed to “decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts.” But what good, one may ask, could a mandate that was in place for such a short span of time possibly have done? According to Philly leaders, a lot.
The city’s health commissioner said the “data” had improved so quickly that the mandate is no longer necessary. Demonstrating absolutely no shame whatsoever, Dr. Cheryl Bettigole credited residents with “stepping up” and showing “solidarity.”
“We are grateful to see that Philadelphians once again stepped up, responding to this pandemic with solidarity and care for each other. And that response and the data demonstrating its effectiveness makes it possible for us to announce today that we are rolling back Philadelphia’s mask mandate in favor of a strong recommendation for indoor masking,” she said.
Philly leaders are too embarrassed to drop the charade. For context, when the mandate was enacted Monday, there were 82 hospitalizations in the city, which is home to roughly 1.6 million people. When the city ended the mandate days later, hospitalizations had dipped slightly to 65.
That’s what the health department calls a policy success.
Democrats frantically curb COVID theater
Philly had dropped the mandate in early March as Democratic cities began relaxing restrictions, making Philly the exception to the rule when it brought the mandate back. Philly’s leaders got cold feet after their backtracking was not followed by Democrats in other cities around the country.
For months, Democrats have been abandoning their draconian mask and vaccine mandates ahead of the midterms, with public opinion turning against the party’s obsession with the pandemic. A recent Axios poll found that just 9 percent of voters think COVID is still a “serious crisis.”
It’s a different political landscape entirely from the start of the Biden era, when Democrats exploited the virus to implicate then-president Trump in mass murder before a voting public still deeply concerned with the pandemic. Biden failed to keep his vow to magically make the virus go away with “science,” of course, and Americans are getting weary of two years of failed and deeply destructive government intervention.
In a sign of just how radioactive mandates have become, two Democrats competing to fill the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Pat Toomey disavowed Philly’s move in a recent debate.
“We have to move past COVID,” said Lt. Governor John Fetterman, adding that “we have to live with this virus, and I don’t believe going backwards with a mask mandate or with closures is appropriate.” The question now is, will voters punish Democrats for their COVID overreach in November? Democrats in Philly, at least, seem to think the answer is yes.
