COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Attitudes towards masks can change pretty quickly, and right now it's not looking good for militant maskers.

An article from Feb. 1 said schools in Cabell County, W.Va., voted to require masks all the way until the end of the school year.

But an article from just a few weeks later, on Feb. 21, said that schools there voted to drop mask mandates, effective immediately.

In only 3 weeks, a school district went from militant universal masking to no masks at all.

[emailking]

We just got an email from the president of my university that they are -not- lifting our mask mandate as many of us had expected, because we are still in an are of "high" transmission according to the CDC. :/

That was the CDC recommendation, to continue wearing masks in those areas. That's why I said only 72% of the country was getting the recommendation to stop wearing them.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

We just got an email from the president of my university that they are -not- lifting our mask mandate as many of us had expected, because we are still in an are of "high" transmission according to the CDC. :/

That was the CDC recommendation, to continue wearing masks in those areas. That's why I said only 72% of the country was getting the recommendation to stop wearing them.

The CDC updated its map last night, and now this number is way up to 90%.

[GregTheGreat657]

What is going on in WV, to the point that 43 out of 55 counties are still recommended to wear masks indoors, despite 90% of the US population no longer being recommended to mask?

[Ferguson97]

What is going on in WV, to the point that 43 out of 55 counties are still recommended to wear masks indoors, despite 90% of the US population no longer being recommended to mask?

My guess is high cases and low vaccination rates?

[Bandit3 the Worker]

National Park Service has lifted its indoor mask mandate for indoor areas - except in the 10% of the country with a "high" transmission rate.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

What is going on in WV, to the point that 43 out of 55 counties are still recommended to wear masks indoors, despite 90% of the US population no longer being recommended to mask?

If you look at the NY Times covid map, you can see that there are three main pockets of substantial transmission (based on case rates, not the CDC metrics).  They are the Upper Mountain West (Idaho and Montana are actually #1 and #2 on their cases per capita chart), far Northern New England, and a swath of Appalachia centered on West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.

All of these areas are relatively isolated.  It may simply be a case of Omicron taking an extra week or two to reach them, so they are slightly behind the curve in coming down from its wave.

The South as a whole (the least vaccinated region and the one with the fewest restrictions) only has covid case rates in line with the national average, so I think it's more a case of Omicron having been late to arrive in the areas that are a little higher now.

[Mr. Morden]

Here in Daly City, CA, I still see on the street that about half of pedestrians are wearing masks outdoors.

[Zohranism is OUR future]

Here in Daly City, CA, I still see on the street that about half of pedestrians are wearing masks outdoors.

Based Asian Americans.

[GregTheGreat657]

Masking rates at my school in Upstate NY are around 35-40% in students, and less than 10% of teachers wear masks

[Kamala-Tim 2024]

Harvard to lift its mask mandate (except for large classes and certain other discretionary exemptions) next week.

[Dr. Arch]

Puerto Rico has lifted all COVID-19 measures and mandates (except vaccination mandates), effective this Thursday.

[Raccoon]

https://twitter.com/peterdaou/status/1501018296774283266

...................................................

[Raccoon]

these twitter people just make me want to bang my head against the wall..

those mother ers

https://twitter.com/kidcharles/status/1501042044600414213

Remember that twitter also said that Russia would not invade Ukraine and that Youngkin would carry Loudoun and Prince William counties.

[Hollywood]

The MRNA Injections are demonstrably horrible for healthy adults and children per the Pfizer Lawsuit, and Bill Gates is even acknowledging that giving yourself Omicron would have preferable cause it protect from T and B Cell.  This was the science months ago when I declared I would no longer wear a mask cause I had omicron immunity. Duh!

I think this thread can be closed.  D comments were Shameful in light of the propaganda campaign they leveled against the science. 

[Trump Is A Maoist]

The MRNA Injections are demonstrably horrible for healthy adults and children per the Pfizer Lawsuit, and Bill Gates is even acknowledging that giving yourself Omicron would have preferable cause it protect from T and B Cell.  This was the science months ago when I declared I would no longer wear a mask cause I had omicron immunity. Duh!

I think this thread can be closed.  D comments were Shameful in light of the propaganda campaign they leveled against the science. 

If this isn't a troll post, I'd love to find out where to get some of whatever you've been smoking.

[Mr. Illini]

Can confirm that the Catholic Church has been particularly strict and consistent about masking. This shouldn't surprise anyone.

The church was not enforcing it. The attendees were voluntarily masking at much higher rates than I’ve seen at other places (grocery store, restaurants, etc). That’s what I was trying to say.

[Mr. Illini]

CTU is filing a labor complaint against CPS over the lifting of the mask mandate. Part of the agreement negotiated when CTU went on strike over winter was that masks would remain mandatory through August.

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/chicago-teachers-union-files-unfair-labor-practice-charge-against-cps-over-end-of-mask-mandate

[emailking]

The MRNA Injections are demonstrably horrible for healthy adults and children per the Pfizer Lawsuit, and Bill Gates is even acknowledging that giving yourself Omicron would have preferable cause it protect from T and B Cell.  This was the science months ago when I declared I would no longer wear a mask cause I had omicron immunity. Duh!

I think this thread can be closed.  D comments were Shameful in light of the propaganda campaign they leveled against the science. 

Pretty sure it's not going to be closed. At most unstickied but I doubt that happens for a while either. I haven't heard anything in the news about the vaccines being horrible for children.

[Doomer]

The MRNA Injections are demonstrably horrible for healthy adults and children per the Pfizer Lawsuit, and Bill Gates is even acknowledging that giving yourself Omicron would have preferable cause it protect from T and B Cell.  This was the science months ago when I declared I would no longer wear a mask cause I had omicron immunity. Duh!

I think this thread can be closed.  D comments were Shameful in light of the propaganda campaign they leveled against the science. 

I got the MRNA injections and a booster. Ever since my urine tastes like sulfur.

[Trump Is A Maoist]

I haven't heard anything in the news about the vaccines being horrible for children.

You forgot to watch far right propaganda, that's why you haven't seen it.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Somehow worldwide cases are going up again.  A lot of this is due to the surge in east Asia, but it’s very discouraging to me how Europe has not been able to shake this.  They are even going back up yet again in the UK.

[Lief 🗽]

Today my work announced that masks will no longer be required in the office but everyone will be required to have a booster shot. The most based combination of policies!

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Hawaii is lifting its mask mandate March 25.

[Calthrina950]

Hawaii is lifting its mask mandate March 25.

That's good to hear. They're finally joining the rest of the country in seeing reason.