Increasingly, No Way Back to Mask Mandates in the U.S.

Mask mandates are “falling out of favour” with American public health authorities and the bar to bring them back is getting higher. The Washington Post says this effect is demonstrated in big cities like New York City where in response to rising case counts, masks were brought back as a recommendation but not a requirement, or in Philadelphia, where the mask mandate to combat rising cases was cancelled after four days.

The chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials says, “People are really fed up with all of these restrictions.” The shift away from mask mandates has been “months in the making,” with many governors encouraging people to live with the virus.

Even if future surges are worse, health officials add that the bar to bring back mask mandates is getting higher as rising cases are simply not as worrying as it used to be, with vaccinations and expanded availability of therapeutics designed to combat COVID-19.