Tate Reeves followed suit,removingthe states mask mandate, effective Wednesday.
The two governors are not alone in taking this drastic step either.
Both Iowa and Montana lifted mask mandates last month.
President Biden, meanwhile, said Tuesday, This fight is far from over…
I urge all Americans, just keep washing your hands, stay socially distanced, wear masks.
Its too soon to allow uncontrolled contact between potentially infectious people.
David Michaels PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist and professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health. His primary expertise is in worker safety and health, and he has held sub-Cabinet Senate-confirmed public health positions in the administrations of President Barack Obama (in which he was Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health) and President Bill Clinton (Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety and Health). He has been on the faculty at GWU since 2001.
While weve succeeded in driving down the rate of new cases, this progress seems to have plateaued.
I havent seen anything that warrants this relaxation of precautions, he says.
In fact, reports of the increase in prevalence of new variants suggests the opposite.
The last thing we should be doing is loosening restrictions.
Its Amazing How Its All Connected.
Such disparities in local mandates are not new.
And without widespread masking, self-protection may prove difficult for those working in customer-facing or otherwise interactive jobs.
The majority of Americas population is still vulnerable to infection in these scenariosDr.
Michaels says tens of millions of seniors alone have yet to be vaccinated.
Obviously, there are some things over which you still have control.
So-called Karensmask-rejecting contrariansmay soon be everywhere as, after all, their approach will no longer be strictly contrarian.
But if your work requires you to make contact with such mask-less individuals, you need not necessarily despair.
Federal law requires that employers offer workplaces free of recognizable hazards, says Dr. Michaels.
Employees who do not feel theyre being adequately protected can organize for those protections, says Dr. Michaels.
OSHA is a regulatory agency of the Department of Labor which can set and enforce safety standards for business.
With that said, Dr. Michaels doesnt think well be wearing masks for the rest of the year.
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