Americans are outraged that Covid-era mask rules appear to be returning to daily life.
This week, a hospital system in Monterey, California, that treats nearly 400,000 patients a year, reinstated its mask mandate for visitors and patients.
Meanwhile, several Bay Area counties have also reinstated rules on wearing masks in health care facilities.
And this week, New York City’s health department again began recommending that people wear masks while using public transportation.
The new mandates in Monterey and New York sparked angry reactions from many residents, who demanded health officials “put the Covid era behind us.”
One said online, “tired of this,” while another added, “this is a joke right?” Masks don’t work,’ and a third said: ‘Are you still harping on about this?’
Another said: “I think it’s good for everyone to get back to normal and move on.”
The mandates come as the United States approaches the annual flu season, which tends to begin in October and peak during December and February.
New York City’s health department is among those urging people to wear masks as flu season approaches. It has provoked a fierce response from some residents.
People are urged to wear face masks. The photo above shows a woman wearing a face mask in September 2021.
California officials said they were ordering the mandates to reduce the spread of viruses in their hospital, which they said was especially important given the drop in acceptance of Covid and flu vaccines.
Official surveillance shows there has yet to be a surge in flu, Covid or other respiratory viruses this year. However, pneumonia cases have increased among children.
The flu test positivity rate peaked at eight percent on Aug. 10, data show, but in the past week had fallen to 6.6 percent.
In revealing the mask mandate for Monterey Peninsula Community Hospital, its infection specialist, Dr. Martha Blum, said, “Now is the time to really make these preparations and remember what we can do to prevent things to really take off with a sharp increase. .
“As we like to say, Noah built the ark before the flood.”
Urging people to wear masks, the New York City Health Department said: “Wearing a mask in crowded indoor environments can help protect you from viruses like Covid and the flu this season.”
“Wearing a mask also protects others if you are sick.”
Mask mandates became a staple in many Democratic states during the Covid pandemic as a way to stop the spread of the virus.
But studies have failed to show that they reduce infections or deaths.
A major review by the Cochrane Institute found they make “little or no difference” to someone’s risk of contracting Covid.
The above shows the CDC’s surveillance of the flu. The proportion of tests that detected the virus has remained stable over the past three weeks for which data is available.
The above is the Covid test positivity rate, or the proportion of tests that detect the virus (green line). It shows that these have been declining since August.
The CDC’s flu activity map by state shows that all have low or moderate levels of the virus.
Previous studies have also suggested that masks do not work in the rain and may not be necessary on public transportation, because repeatedly opening train doors constantly changes the air in the car.
At the same time, some experts have suggested that Covid measures, such as wearing masks and social distancing, may put people, especially children, at greater risk of serious infections.
They say it deprives children of exposure to diseases at an early age, meaning their immune systems may not develop properly.
However, some have reacted positively to the news, with one saying online: “There are immunocompromised people here.” “It means a lot to us that people wear a mask.”
A second said: “Thank you for this message!”, and a third added: “I wish this was normal.” Let’s take care of our health and that of others please.’
CDC flu surveillance shows that the share of flu tests that detected the virus has remained level over the last three weeks for which data is available, at 0.6 percent.
The CDC also publishes a map of the impact of the flu by state, which currently shows that almost all states have minimal virus activity. Only three (Indiana, Ohio and Virginia) have low activity.