At a time when the new coronavirus Omilton variant is threatening on a global scale, the United States, which is not ideal in the fight against the epidemic, has begun to explore "restoring social normalcy". Just before the federal government has reached a clear conclusion, many state governments have "loosened" themselves and have relaxed necessary epidemic prevention measures such as mask mandatory orders. This latest development has not only aroused strong concern in American public opinion, but also public health experts have different opinions. Some media analysts believe that the anti-epidemic work in the United States is still seriously disturbed by political factors - after all, the midterm elections are coming, and politicians are most concerned about poll numbers.
CDC: Not yet when the shackles are lifted
According to the New York Times reported on the 10th, the White House new crown response coordinator Chi anzi said on the 9th that the White House has held consultations with state governors and local epidemic prevention experts to jointly discuss how to lift epidemic prevention restrictions in stages and "let the country continue to move forward". Recently, words such as "transition" and "epidemic prevention transformation" have become hot words in the US media.
According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the 9th, the average daily new covid-19 cases in the United States were 247,000 new cases and 2,404 deaths in the past 7 days. CDC data also show that the number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States has shown a downward trend in recent days, compared with an average of 800,000 new cases per day at the peak in mid-January, and the number of deaths has stabilized after several months of continuous increases.
White House chief medical adviser Fauci said on the 9th that the United States has passed the stage of "full outbreak" of the epidemic, if the confirmed cases continue to decline, and no new mutated strains appear, the current various restrictive policies may "soon become the past", and boldly predict that Americans will be able to get a vaccine booster every four or five years in the future.
But Fauci also cautioned that the situation is "still unpredictable" and said any transition away from the current crisis will be gradual.
U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention Vronsky said that while the CDC is developing new guidelines for states to prevent the epidemic, it is too early for all Americans to "take off their masks" in indoor public places. She stressed that cdc's epidemic prevention guidelines have not changed and that "our hospitalization rates and mortality rates are still high."
The Associated Press said that the United States is still the world's number one epidemic country, with a total of 77.2 million confirmed cases and 911,000 deaths, and as of now, more than 2,400 people in the country still die of covid-19 every day.
The New York Times reminded that the Biden administration must not have a "get it done" mentality to avoid the recurrence of "punching in the face." In June last year, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States also fell significantly, and Biden said conclusively that the country's anti-epidemic cause was "nearing the end". It didn't take long for Delta and Omicron to follow, catching the United States off guard.
Local government "leaves the White House behind"
The federal government has yet to issue new guidelines, and many U.S. states are impatient to go their own way. In recent days, at least 7 U.S. states have announced that they will abandon mask injunctions, and according to the BBC, these local officials have ignored Washington's opinion and "left the White House behind."
The governors of New York, Illinois and Rhode Island recently said they would soon lift the policy of "wearing masks indoors"; governors in Massachusetts and other places promised that students would not have to wear masks to school. New York Governor Khochur high-profile announced that the fight against the epidemic has made "tremendous progress in the past two years" and that the state has entered a "new phase" in the fight against the epidemic. New Jersey Gov. Murphy made similar remarks, saying the state was "a major step toward a return to normalcy."
In some areas where mask orders have been lifted, the response has been mixed. On the 8th of this month, the Portland City Council, Maine, voted to abolish the indoor mask injunction. But citizens Edmonds, who still wear masks when shopping, said: "I don't think we've reached the level of herd immunity ... It's always right to be a little more careful. Nurse Donovan said: "We simply can't be sure if we are out of the woods, and wearing a mask is the minimum precaution." As long as you let your guard down, the virus will always come to you. ”
However, many merchants said that they were "relieved". Some people in the catering industry said that during the effective period of the injunction, they always had to have disputes with some customers who were unwilling to cooperate, which greatly affected the business. Some parents with "big hearts" also said that as long as they are vaccinated, their children will not wear masks at school. According to the latest report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Association of Children's Hospitals, more than 12 million children in the United States have been confirmed to be infected with the new crown virus since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic.
Politicization of epidemic prevention
On the 9th of this month, a reporter asked the White House about the white house's views on the abandonment of the mask mandatory order by the governor of many states. In response, White House spokesman Psaki said that President Biden will continue to work on his campaign promises, and the next step of the federal government will be based on data changes, not political circumstances.
The BBC analysis believes that the change in state policy is inseparable from the poll figures and the upcoming midterm elections. In the past two years, "wearing or not wearing a mask" has been one of the most hotly debated topics across the United States, and even directly affected the situation in last year's gubernatorial election. In the run-up to the midterm elections, many Republicans continued to stir up emotions, allowing the public to vent anger and impatience on their Democratic opponents. A number of media have noted that it is almost the same "blue state" governor (that is, the Democratic governor) who recently announced the abandonment of the mask mandatory order.
For the "repeated jumps" of epidemic prevention policies and the different opinions of health experts, the biggest feeling of Americans is "confusion". The latest report released by the Pew Center in the United States on the 9th shows that the Public in the United States has more and more critical voices about epidemic prevention measures, and up to 60% of American adults are confused by public health officials' recommendations on epidemic prevention, an increase of 7 percentage points over last summer. About 60% of respondents believe that President Biden's work on epidemic prevention is average or very poor.
Source: Global Times