Hello everyone,
Philadelphia’s ill-advised mask mandate went away a few days after it was imposed.
Reasons for the mandate seemed to center on a rising number of cases from a low base rather than the far more important metric – the number of people in the hospital.
Sadly, Philly’s mandate led to some political grandstanding in Dover, with state Senate Republicans sending out a letter urging state health officials not to bring back the mandate. Never mind the absence of any evidence of state officials considering any such thing.
In the meantime, a federal judge in Florida overturned the transportation mask mandate for planes, trains, and buses.
The mandate should have been allowed to expire earlier as flight crews continued to deal with often intoxicated people acting out and sometimes injuring members of flight crews.
However, the CDC erred on the side of caution as cases from a new variant began to rise.
The Biden Administration felt it has no choice but to appeal the judge’s decision, which relied on the narrowest definition of the law. However, the federal Transportation Department immediately complied with the order to avoid any confusion and the possibility of mask-related confrontations.
In the meantime, Delaware has seen a steady rise in cases.
The number of people in critical condition from Covid complications remains below a half dozen after dropping to zero. Hospitalizations and positive tests are also up but remain a small fraction of the January peak.
Covid has moved into a new phase, with recent figures not always reflecting the actual number of cases. People with mild cases simply stay home for a few days and do not always show up in the stats.
More than 90% of adults have been immunized, and a quarter of the state’s population getting. Covid has reduced the number and severity of cases.
For employers, it amounts to more Covid-related headaches on top of the usual absences from spring allergies and colds, all of this on top of a labor shortage.
Public health officials still recommend wearing masks, especially in crowded public places and in situations such as jet flights where passengers come in contact with people.
As someone who ended up with a cold a couple of times after sitting on a crowded holiday flight with wheezing and sneezing passengers, I have no plans to ditch the mask in crowded spaces. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
