Hold on a minute New York City Mayor Eric Adams. I know you are new but what about the risks from COVID? According to Dr. Fauci, the CDC, your predecessor, and past 2 governors, since COVID variants exist, the mask and vaccines mandates should stay in place.
Well, Mayor Adams instead of following their examples just fell in line with dozens of other blue state mayors and governors who recently ended their mask and vaccine mandates. Not simply because the scientific data has improved, but because recent polling overwhelmingly shows that Americans are done with COVID and ready to vote out politicians in November who will not let them go back to living normally again.
Adams announced the changes, which take effect Monday, during a news conference in Times Square.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) after lifting vaccine requirements for businesses and mask mandates in schools:
“We have become so boring as a city. I want all my parades back, every one of them. It is time for us to enjoy our city again … I want to become a city of excitement.” pic.twitter.com/uo93ZTUAKd
— The Recount (@therecount) March 4, 2022
Today’s NYC announcement covers indoor dining, gyms and fitness centers, and indoor entertainment and meeting spaces. Anyone visiting them no longer will be required to show proof of vaccination or wear masks.
New York City’s infection rate is now just 1.8% — and in schools, it is just 0.18%. Adams said, that because of the high vaccination rate of NYC residents, the city is confident that it can ease the requirements. As of Thursday, about 89% of New Yorkers have had at least one vaccine dose, with nearly 76% fully vaccinated.
The rollback of the requirements represents a major milestone during the pandemic, Adams said.
“Two years ago we were the epicenter, and two months ago we became the epicenter again with Omicron,” he said. “Two years of pain, of heartbreak, of uncertainty, of business loss, of schools closing — just conflict inside our households. It was a tough time, but I said from the time I was elected, we are not going to allow Covid to define us.”
Adams said theaters, restaurants and other businesses can use their discretion if they prefer to continue requiring patrons to show proof of vaccination. Legally, they are within their rights to insist on that despite the city’s stance, he added. Mask wearing is still recommended in large group settings, but will no longer be required. He also said the city will continue to track infection trends and could always reinstate stricter requirements in the future.
When asked by one reporter for the outlook on parades, like the annual Puerto Rican Day event in June, Adams said the plan is to restore them after two largely inactive years. “We have become so boring as a city,” he said. “I want all our parades back, every one of them. It’s time for us to enjoy our city again. All of these ‘no, no, no’s – we’ve become a city of ‘No’s.’ I want to become a city of excitement. We’re going to look to reinstate every parade, every festival, every block party. People need to get outdoors and enjoy our city again.”
New York City Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said the city has now reached a “low” alert level in terms of Covid. While nearly 40,000 New Yorkers have died due to the virus, officials said vaccination efforts have helped avert 48,000 deaths.
Throughout the news conference, Adams emphasized the city’s re-emergence from the difficult 2 years, Along with public morale and safety, “we have to get our economy back on track,” the mayor said. “It’s time to open our city.”
New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin noted that Times Square takes up 0.1% of the city’s landmass, but represents 15% of its economy. “As we talk about getting through Covid, we need to talk about what we’re doing to ensure that our small businesses are able to grow and move forward in a way that we feel helps our economy,” he said.
Benjamin noted that nursing homes, health care facilities, jails, homeless shelters, airports, and transportation hubs are all places where masks are still required.
“We are all right, folks,” Adams said. “We’re doing all right. We’re doing the right things. People will go back out and enjoy this city. It’s going to take a while, I understand that.”
He closed his remarks by saying the momentous decision is “clearly an Arnold Schwarzenegger moment — we’ll be back.”
It’s amazing what happens with the Democratic leadership sees their power possibly slipping away. All of a sudden, the COVID numbers are crunched differently and things open back up rapidly.
The question is will the voters remember the past two years of living under tyranny, or will they forget and vote party line anyway.
By: Eric Thompson, editor of Eric Thompson Show.
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