The council of the California city of Huntington Beach voted to ban mask mandates and COVID vaccine mandates citywide amid fears the virus may begin to reemerge alongside flu and RSV warnings in a possible “tripledemic.”
While only 35 miles south of Los Angeles, Huntington Beach has a majority of the Republican mayor and city council, which pushed and voted against the ban. The city has voted for the Republican candidate for president in every election since 1964.
Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark presented the bill to a large crowd of supporters and opponents alike, with 116 people signing up to comment publicly on the bill.
She declared the city “a mandated city with no masks and no vaccines,” as the measure was passed by a 4-to-3 vote.
However, there will be an exception to the rule for anyone who has tested positive for COVID, who will be required to wear masks in certain circumstances.
The council of the city of Huntington Beach in California has voted to ban mask mandates and COVID vaccine mandates citywide amid fears the virus will begin to emerge again
“The government has unnecessarily restricted the freedoms of Huntington Beach citizens — even those who were not in close proximity to anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 or was at risk of any exposure,” Van Der Mark said.
She also said that private companies are still allowed to do whatever they want.
“If a company wants to ask people to wear face masks, get vaccinated and show vaccination cards, they should have the right to do that themselves,” said Van Der Mark, “but that shouldn’t be imposed on every citizen.”
The number of COVID cases has increased in nearby Los Angeles County, as have the number of hospitalizations.
Alderman Dan Kalmick, a Democrat, said the whole idea was pointless because there had been no threat of new mandates. ABC7.
“There was no impetus for it. We have not received any emails. This was purely a political maneuver to incite people to get support because these people are losing support because of their very unpopular positions,” Kalmick said.
The council also proposed, but later tabled, an amendment that would, in theory, ban LGBTQ+ Pride flags — and all flags except the national, state, city, and prisoner of war flags — from public buildings.
According to police, protesters placed a giant pride flag on the steps in front of the building LA times.
Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark (pictured) presented the bill to a large crowd of both supporters and opponents
She declared the city as “a city with no masks and no vaccines,” as the measure was passed by a 4-to-3 vote.
The council previously voted to stop flying the drone on city properties every June in honor of Pride Month.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned medical professionals that rising rates of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in Florida and Georgia in recent weeks mark the beginning of respiratory virus season.
And the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised health professionals to brace themselves for what could be a “triple-demic” of RSV, flu and Covid-19 cases this winter.
Jill Biden tested positive for Covid for the second time on Monday, leading to multiple rounds of testing on President Joe Biden, who is still negative.
As a precaution, the 80-year-old president wore a face mask for the first time in months on Tuesday while performing his White House duties.
However, he took it off at a Medal of Honor ceremony and did not put it back on — an act that disguised the tiredness of Americans wearing Covid masks.
The 72-year-old First Lady’s positive result is a reminder that the virus, which has been a background issue for months, continues to disrupt people’s lives as cases rise again and positivity rates reach as high as 20 in some parts of the world. percent increased. US.
But Covid is no longer the deadly threat it once was. While hospitalizations involving the virus have been rising for weeks, they are still about 10 times lower than the January 2022 peak, and deaths are about 40 times below the late 2020 peak.
At least 116 people had signed up to comment publicly on the bill
Jill Biden tested positive for Covid for the second time on Monday, prompting multiple rounds of testing on President Joe Biden, who still remains negative
Many doctors are now comparing the virus to the common cold or flu, which, while disruptive and deadly to vulnerable groups, will not cause serious illness in the vast majority of people.
The transition from a deadly virus to a manageable seasonal illness can be attributed to the high level of immunity among Americans to infection or vaccination, plus an arsenal of highly effective therapies and medications.
For these reasons, in May of this year, the federal government ended the pandemic and ended the public health emergency, removing legal requirements for masking, isolation, testing and vaccination.