The Third Coronavirus Surge Is Here And Masks Are Still Optional

And yet, in many areas of the country where infections are spiking, wearing a mask in public is still completely optional. .

Infectious disease experts interviewed by HuffPost said the failure of the White House to put forth a coherent, unified plan to stem the pandemic ― including a nationwide mask mandate ― has had calamitous repercussions. .

Of the 10 states with the highest rates of new coronavirus cases per capita according to a White House Coronavirus Task Force report this month, seven do not require residents to wear masks. .

He supports a national mask mandate.

Doug Burgum has refused to implement a mask mandate, saying that he prefers a “light touch of government.” Last week, Fargo became the first city in the state to institute a mask mandate, despite months of rising infections.

Overwhelmed by the increase in cases, state health officials are now asking residents to conduct their own contact tracing if they test positive.

As cases spike, calls for a nationwide mask mandate are getting louder.

Food and Drug Administration, suggested a national mask mandate, writing that “states should be able to choose how to enforce a mandate, but the goal should be to make masks a social and cultural norm, not a political statement.” On Friday, Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert who has been resistant to a national mandate, told CNN’s Erin Burnett that it might be time to consider one. .

For some, wearing or not wearing a mask has become a political statement. .

Opponents of statewide mask mandates argue that they are difficult to enforce.

But in the state’s 10 counties with the highest positivity rates, only one has a mask mandate, according to a review by The Tennessean. .

That all could have been averted if we had a mask mandate,” he said. .

Although Ducey did not implement a statewide mandate, city and county governments instituted mask mandates that covered 85% of the population.

Around 80 of the state’s counties opted out of the mandate under a state law that allowed local officials to override state restrictions. .

Researchers at the University of Kansas found that counties that opted out of the mask order saw a surge in coronavirus infection rates, while counties with a mask mandate saw cases flatline. .

“Within three weeks to a month, you really start to see cases flatten in counties that have the mask mandate,” said Donna Ginther, director of the Institute for Policy & Social Research at the University of Kansas.

“The mask mandate slows the spread; it doesn’t eliminate it.

“You probably have imperfect compliance in those counties with a mask mandate,” Ginther said