Masks are forever
Mask mandates that cropped up during COVID-19 were intended to be permanent, regardless of what their apologists claimed. It might not have been obvious immediately, but it is now. As usual, this entry will toss out numerous sorry incidents and let you be the judge.
In May 2021, the Whitehorse Daily Star reported that Yukon planned to make its mask mandate permanent—lasting after the pandemic was over. Oregon officials tried for a permanent mandate as well. Germany proposed a permanent mandate that would last from October to Easter every year. Officials stupidly compared it to switching from summer to winter tires. FFP2 masks would have been required for long-distance travel. Ireland also proposed a permanent mask mandate. A commentary by Dr. Ellen F. Foxman that appeared in U.S. News & World Report in May 2022 also said the quiet part out loud, declaring that maskage “should be here to stay.”
In January 2022, former advisers to President Biden published a strategy to address endemic COVID that included masks.
A May 2022 article in the Bangkok Post said officials in Thailand vowed to keep mask mandates in place even after the virus became endemic there.
In September 2022, an Indiana University student wrote an op-ed for the Indiana Daily Student saying masks should “become commonplace” in America. The same day, a SunStar editorial urged making masks a permanent “new normal” in the Philippines. That these articles appeared on the same day shows it was a coordinated effort. The SunStar piece also falsely claimed masks were widely required in Japan, even though Japan had no general mask mandate.
In November 2022, Globe & Mail columnist Marsha Lederman penned a piece saying mask mandates should be the norm every winter in perpetuity—“not just as a pandemic measure.” If not for pandemics, what is it for? She demonized those who opposed this concept.
That same month, some talking heads wrote a piece for Time urging maskage for viruses other than COVID. This also reams a bazooka hole through the claims of those who said masks would only be temporary.
Also that month, the CBC reported that Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth, a laughingstock who served on the school board in Ottawa, said schools should consider a mask mandate every winter—forever—to fight colds and the flu. So-called “leaders” don’t have a lot of credibility on colds and the flu, which they shrugged off back before COVID. There were flu deaths before COVID, but they were ignored because they couldn’t be weaponized to fit the official narrative yet.
Another pundit said masks should be mandatory on airplanes for every cold and flu season forever—not just for COVID—and condescendingly said opposition to masks was just “adolescent rebellion.”
And so, another so-called “conspiracy theory” turned out to be a spoiler.
Around the same time as Kaplan-Myrth’s statement, Ontario’s top medical officer Dr. Kieran Moore urged people to wear masks at home, even though cases in Ontario were very low and dropping. This was as Moore would not wear a mask at a party for Toronto dignitaries.
Kaplan-Myrth had reportedly been ejected from a Volvo dealership in 2020 for harassing unmasked employees.
The efforts to enact permanent mask mandates were consummated in the spring of 2023 when Santa Clara County, California—perhaps the capital of COVID maximalism—issued a new order declaring that masking of all patients, visitors, and workers in healthcare settings was to be mandatory every year from November through March forever. Violations were to be punishable with a fine or imprisonment. To drive home the Orwellian “up is down” fervor, NBC-owned KNTV-TV ran a headline blaring, “Santa Clara County Relaxes COVID Rules”—even though it did not relax them but rather enacted one of the most extreme mandates yet. Then, in April, the county issued another new mask mandate to apply in healthcare facilities immediately. This order was rightly opposed by the Santa Clara County Registered Nurses Professional Association.
In Ireland—although masks were reportedly not universally enforced there—a woman was sentenced to 90 days in jail for not wearing a mask at a store. At the same time, a man caught with child pornography avoided having to go to jail at all. Similarly, in San Francisco, a judge appointed by Gavin Newsom let off a man who committed battery against a 15-year-old girl. The judge said this ruling was “in the interest of justice.” Yet masklessness could have resulted in penalties.
Masks became an issue in the 2021 mayoral race in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The mayor mailed out a flyer attacking a challenger—a fellow Democrat—for opposing an outdoor mask ordinance, as if opposing it was an unpopular position. (The incumbent mayor was a complete idiot on other matters as well, claiming that Guy Fawkes masks worn by Occupy Wall Street activists a decade earlier “inspired QAnon.”) There was a Republican candidate too, and according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, she was cited in 2020 for not wearing a mask on the city plaza—even though it was outdoors. She had previously supported masks. She was cited after somebody complained that she was unmasked outdoors.
Despite one of the most extreme statewide mandates in the country, not all of New Mexico was mask crazy—and I don’t mean just some gas stations, motels, and national monuments I visited on a road trip where everyone beamed widely. Grants Mayor Martin Hicks showed up barefaced at a state legislative meeting and said, “Grants doesn’t have a mask mandate. We’ve never had one.” We can almost forgive Hicks for misusing the word socialist to criticize directives that were anything but.
The Eastern New Mexico News reported that the New Mexico Department of Health sent a warning to Curry County Commission for not requiring masks at public meetings. The department actually cited videos of the meetings as “evidence.” Judging by YouTube videos of county commission meetings all over New Mexico, there would have been a long list of counties for state officials to bust. This was true in parts of Kentucky as well, but New Mexico is more surprising because its state orders seemed worse on paper.
Nobody seemed to take responsibility for anything. Everything was always considered somebody else’s fault. In July 2021, WSOC-TV reported on a stunning incident in Charlotte. A group of over 30 teenagers from the Boston area was about to take an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Nassau, Bahamas. Then they decided to stage what WSOC called a “mask rebellion.” As they got on the plane, they refused to wear masks. The airline then canceled the flight, blaming the maskless teens. After the flight was canceled, other vacationers also blamed the youths for allegedly causing American Airlines to cancel. Nope, it was the airline’s choice to cancel. But nobody dared blame the airline. This moblike hero worship of airlines was not new. For years before the pandemic, the Internet was rife with irrational posts defending airlines no matter how wrong the airline was. Saying the teens caused the airline to cancel this flight is the timeworn “Look what you made me do!” excuse. Seven months after the vaccine came out, this shouldn’t have even been an issue. This proves once again that our overlords lied when they said rules would lifted when a vaccine came out.
WCNC-TV reported that this plane full of passengers had been sitting on the tarmac for three hours before American Airlines decided to cancel. Whose fault was that?
Many years before the pandemic, Southwest Airlines had caused significant humiliation for itself in the Airline reality series on cable TV. Airline showed the experiences of real-life passengers, and their treatment reflected very poorly on Southwest. It’s hard to believe Southwest was shameless enough to agree to be featured in a reality show that reflected so badly on it. During the pandemic, Southwest’s audacity continued. The airline tried to enforce masks on two-year-olds. An online commenter said that on a Southwest flight that was 1½ hours late and had no air conditioning, their two-year-old daughter was unable to wear a mask. Two flight attendants forced the commenter to hold the child down to put a mask on her face. When this didn’t work, the attendants told the commenter to glue the mask to the child’s face.
A Facebook commenter wrongly claimed the TSA’s mask order “preseeds [sic]” the Americans with Disabilities Act, as if a federal statute can be unilaterally overturned by an unelected agency. Their usual gimmick was to claim the ADA required mask mandates rather than prohibiting them, but this time, they let the mask slip by saying it didn’t matter to them what the ADA said.
Often, some dignitary would get away with violating the nationwide mask mandate that applied to air travel and other forms of mass transport. For everyone else, that mandate was interpreted to cover a broad range of venues. However, the CDC guidance that inspired this broad enforcement received pushback from a bipartisan group of senators and other officials. In May 2021, CNBC reported on a Senate hearing about the matter. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—one of the most moderate Senate Republicans—said the rule was endangering fishermen, who were required to wear waterlogged masks when they were out on their boat. Evidently, the Coast Guard tried to enforce this rule in international waters. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine—another Republican moderate—said the CDC had lost credibility. “I used to have the utmost respect for the guidance from the CDC,” she said. “I always considered the CDC to be the gold standard. I don’t anymore.” Dr. Kavita Patel, a former official in the Obama administration, told CNBC that “the CDC’s credibility is eroding” because it wouldn’t update its mask guidance. Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, a Democrat, joined Murkowski in writing a letter to CDC and Coast Guard officials urging them to loosen their guidance.
Fishing personnel said masks hampered breathing, vision, and communication. Because of loud machinery on fishing boats, workers often have to read lips—but masks precluded this. Waterlogged masks also carried dangerous bacteria. Later, however, the CDC doubled down and reiterated its fishing guidelines. At the same time, the CDC loosened its rules for vacationers on cruise ships. So tourists on luxury cruises could ditch their masks, while fishermen and bus passengers couldn’t. Got that? Naturally, someone whined on a website that fishermen had “their hands out for federal welfare funds”, which only confirms the classism behind our rulers’ crusade.
Wealthy residents of Mountain Village, Colorado, complained about people on the local ski lift not wearing masks—claiming ski lifts were a form of interstate transportation that fell under the federal mandate.
When push came to shove, more high-end venues generally were more heavily masked, despite attempts to apply tougher rules to those with less means. Why were nude faces tolerated at ordinary baseball games but not expensive amusement parks? Why was it often overlooked on city buses but not on commercial jets? One reason is surely that the more attendance there is, the more people violate the rule, making it harder to enforce. A more mainstream customer base was less likely to even comply.
It wasn’t just America where high-end venues were more likely to be mask hawks. An online comment said that by December 2022, masks were no longer enforced in South Korea unless you visited “some rich place.” A visitor to the Dominican Republic reported in 2021 that masks were rarely enforced except by big corporate retailers.
Perhaps more significantly, high-end clientele generally masked in places where it could signal their virtue and set them apart from other customers—but not elsewhere. They did not generally comply at events where other patrons were of their station and those who served them were forced to comply instead. Ultimately, they wanted to breathe freely while lower economic classes were masked—just to show who was in charge. Thus, you can find photos of fancy banquets and celebrity events where they are not masked, while the servers are.
One of the many lowlights of the long-running mask hype took place in the halls of the U.S. Senate in mid-2020. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California—who had long been a thorn in the side of those who tried in vain to prevent the once-great Democratic Party from swirling down the crapper—proposed legislation that would have withheld federal funds from states that did not have a mask mandate. Imagine in 2019 thinking that the following year there would be a serious effort in Congress to strip federal funds from states for not requiring people to wear masks in public. Feinstein naturally cited President Trump’s CDC director Dr. Robert R. Redfield to back up her stance. Of course, Feinstein refused to wear a mask herself at the U.S. Capitol and at an airport. Rules are only for the little people.
Some organizations all but admitted masks are useless except to give the impression of being safer. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra said it would require attendees to diaper up because “we believe it will create a perception of greater safety in the minds of our patrons.” So it was because of feelings, not science.
Hong Kong had a mask mandate and a mask ban at the same time. Hong Kong bore much of the brunt of China’s “new normal” experiments, as it is a territory administered by China. The Chinese Communist Party imposed lockdowns only on certain regions, and it was also responsible for the treatment of Hong Kong. In December 2020, a court upheld an order that masks were actually banned at public gatherings in Hong Kong—even while they were also required. Ironically, the ban had initially been ordered during protests against the government back in 2019 because masks would conceal protesters’ identities. However, a later article that seemed to praise Hong Kong’s failed “zero COVID” environment said a vast majority of people there did wear masks. Snap Map footage indicated it wasn’t unanimous, but it was close.
Hong Kong police imposed heavy fines on a group of 11 domestic workers for congregating maskless. The fine cost them their entire monthly pay. The territory also fined two teenage brothers for playing basketball without a mask.
By November 2022, even the media’s heroes—the Chinese Communist Party—were no match for the public souring on COVID maximalism. That was when Hong Kong hosted the Hong Kong Sevens, a major rugby tournament. Official rules demanded fans in the stadium wear masks. Articles and photos revealed that compliance was very spotty—even under the CCP’s thumb. One fan told the South China Morning Post, “Everyone was complaining about having to wear masks, but they haven’t really enforced it in the South Stand.” On the other hand, many tourists who had purchased tickets to the event were denied entry because they were required to carry a QR code, and their QR code didn’t let them in that day.
The Japan Times reported in July 2021 that not only did Japan not have a mask mandate, but China also had no nationwide mandate. This shows again that China treated lockdown culture as an experiment where certain regions were the main subjects.
Comic conventions seemed to have unusually heavy-handed mask rules. One example is New York Comic Con in October 2021. Even though attendees were required to show proof of vaccination, the convention required masks—and prohibited bandanas and gaiters. As further proof the rule was about control, the event said these masks had to be visible and not covered by costume masks that you might otherwise expect to see at such an event. Why should it matter if it’s visible? Event organizers said it was because of local mandates, even though local mask rules were not in force at the time. Not long after that, Comic-Con International in San Diego announced a similar rule—even though it wasn’t scheduled until July 2022. The event claimed this was based on state and local mandates, though those mandates would be gone by the time of the event. The event’s website smugly said that people who could not wear a mask for medical reasons should stay home: “If you are unable to wear a mask due to a medical concern, we recommend that you not attend Comic-Con 2022.” Potential attendees blasted the rule.
Late 2021 was also when a handful of supposedly serious media outlets—including the New York Times—spread one of their most idiotic conspiracy theories of all. According to this bogus story, Missouri’s health department conducted a study that showed cities and counties with mask mandates had lower infection and death rates than those without, but the department covered up these findings. What actually happened was that the study showed mask mandates didn’t work. Cases zoomed upward after the mandates passed. Also, one of the media organizations that accused the department of a cover-up claimed to be a charity so it could enjoy a tax exemption.
Another organization abused its charity status while posting several articles falsely claiming that tougher stay-at-home orders in one jurisdiction were successful. Private organizations were getting bailouts to post lies.
But it never ends. As late as November 2021, one malcontent said air travel should be banned to and from states that did not permit local mask mandates. That person must be a lot of fun at parties.
Not only does it never end, but it almost always gets worse! In December 2021—a full year after vaccines came out—Malta inexplicably declared that masks were mandatory outdoors. This rule applied to adults and to children as young as three. The rule even applied on beaches. This was despite the fact that Malta had not averaged more than one COVID death per day in eight months, its case count was declining, and the country was over 80 percent vaccinated. An online commenter said this was also the rule in Malta previously, and hardly anyone obeyed it then. Later, a video of a protest in Malta against COVID restrictions revealed continued noncompliance. Unfortunately, despite the promise held by this civil disobedience, the Times of Malta reported that 76 people were fined during the first weekend of the new rule. In spite of vaccines, authorities were digging in instead of loosening things up.
Also that December, the Australian state of Western Australia issued a new mask mandate that was not slated to take effect until the following February. In Canada, Prince Edward Island doubled down on mask orders even though the province had never reported a single COVID death—and had never even had many cases.
Even in January 2023, a network of NPR member stations owned by the University of Michigan broadcast an interview of some academic who tried to justify forced masking for viruses other than COVID. She said we had “known for decades” that masks reduce airborne viruses, even though studies before and after the start of the pandemic disproved this. She said this is why medical workers wore masks, even though they actually wore them to prevent exchange of fluids. She claimed—with no basis whatsoever—that during the pandemic, masks reduced viruses other than COVID by 50 percent. She falsely claimed schools that enacted mask mandates saw lower COVID spread than before the mandates. The host did not challenge her claims, preferring instead to let the broadcast be used for the usual propaganda.
When various venues did drop their mandates, we were encouraged to respect people who continued to wear masks. This spirit of acceptance seems laudable as long as these individuals did not foist their ideas on others. Yet these same venues had previously encouraged people to bully and harass people who did not mask. Those who did not mask were even expelled from school, fired from their jobs, and ejected from businesses. Respect of others’ decisions should be a two-way street.
With new mask orders still being enacted in 2024, how are we doing with “two weeks to flatten the curve”? The fact that these edicts have persisted so long after the vaccine was issued is proof on its face that the intent was and is to be permanent.