Mask Bans Grow, Threatening Public Health And Immunocompromised People
www.forbes.com

... The CDC has just changed its assessment of Covid-19 risks from saying it is primarily a seasonal, winter respiratory infection to noting that there are also summer peaks. It is, therefore, even more disturbing that a number of cities and states are choosing to promote mask bans. Here's where those policies have taken hold.

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North Carolina

In North Carolina, the General Assembly passed bill HB 237, previously called Unmasking Mobs and Criminals. It said it is illegal to mask in public unless you have a contagious disease. (Note: There is no exemption for preventing disease, asthma, or other medical problems). Republicans said the law was passed as a response to masking at college campuses by protestors against the war in Gaza. The law also increases the penalties if a person commits a crime while wearing a mask. Yet if they obtained a permit, the KKK could hold masked rallies.

Democratic State Rep. Maria Cervania is an epidemiologist as well as a legislator. In an interview, she said that the worst part is that "any property owner or occupant of that property can tell you you need to take off your mask." Further, "law enforcement can ask you to take off your mask for any reason." The Democratic Governor, Roy Cooper, vetoed this bill, and the GOP legislature overrode his veto.

The GOP knows "that this is not based in medical facts," Cervania added. "It's not based on individual rights and freedoms. It's not based on people being able to make their own decisions about their health, the health of their loved ones." "This is all politics," Cervania concluded, and "passing this doesn't protect our people." ...