Democratic Governors Are Ending Mask Mandates Too

Democratic governors are pushing for an end to mask mandates nearly two years after the COVID-19 pandemic started in the U.S., assuming effectively the same position as Republicans they’ve long criticized for giving up on mitigation efforts. 

The governors of three states announced Monday that they’re all planning on letting school mask mandates expire within the coming months, Oregon’s health department will end school and indoor mask mandates by March 31, and California will end its indoor mask mandate for vaccinated people next week. 

The shift partially reflects the rapid decline of the Omicron variant, which has happened almost as rapidly as the variant’s climb. After cases and hospitalizations peaked at more than a million per day after the winter holidays, case numbers have plummeted by more than half within the past month, and hospitalizations are decreasing as well. 

But the moves from Democratic administrations also reflect election-year political concerns, as public disapproval has grown over the Biden administration’s handling of the pandemic—even though mask mandates themselves have maintained a relatively high level of support from Americans. 

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy, who narrowly won re-election to another four-year-term in November, announced that the statewide school mask mandate will end March 7, handing over control of masking policies to school districts and childcare facilities. 

“Given the continued drop in new cases and hospitalizations, projections indicating a continued decline over the coming weeks, and the continued growth of vaccinations for our school-aged population, we believe that we can responsibly end the universal mask mandate,” Murphy said in a Monday statement. 

Delaware Gov. John Carney on Monday announced the end of the universal indoor masking policy by Friday, while extending the mask mandate in public and private schools “to give parents time ​to get their school-age children vaccinated before the expiration of the statewide requirement.” Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced that the school mask mandate there will end Feb. 28. Both Carney and Lamont are Democrats.

The Oregon Health Authority, which operates under the administration of Gov. Kate Brown, announced an end to the state’s indoor mask mandate by “no later than” March 31—even as Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state’s top health officer, maintained that “masks save lives by slowing the spread of COVID-19.” 

“We should see COVID-19 hospitalizations drop by the end of March because so many Oregonians are wearing masks and taking other steps to protect themselves and each other, such as getting a booster shot or vaccinating their children,” Sidelinger said. “At that point, it will be safer to lift mask requirements.”

Newsom, meanwhile, said Monday that the statewide indoor mask mandate will end February 15 for vaccinated people. That’s even though the Omicron variant has proved to evade immunity against infection from vaccines or prior infection more than previous variants (the vaccines still provide significant protection against severe illness, however). 

California health officials said Monday that they were “working to update” school mask policies. 

These Democratic governors aren’t the first to move away from mask mandates. In December, as Omicron was beginning to surge, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he wouldn’t implement another statewide mask mandate, that “the emergency is over,” and that “[public health officials] don’t get to tell people what to wear.” Cases in Colorado last month peaked at more than 300 percent of their height during the winter of 2021, though deaths have remained low. 

Dr. Justin Lessler, an epidemiology professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, told VICE News that while COVID transmission rates are moving in the right direction, when it comes to announcing an end to masking policies, “I don’t think we are there yet.”

“In many of these states cases are declining quickly, but are still at some of the highest levels seen in the pandemic, as are COVID-19 related hospitalizations and deaths,” Lessler said.

“I worry that lifting mask mandates, both directly and in the message it sends to the population about the COVID-19 threat, could severely slow the rate at which cases are declining, and perhaps even reverse the trend.”

If liberal governors are hoping to score points with conservatives for their push to get back to normalcy, however, that’s not likely to happen. On Monday, Fox News’ Pete Hegseth said Murphy’s decision was “not because he’s suddenly following the science.” 

“He’s doing it because, and you're going to hear more and more of this, Democrats are worried about the midterms, their majorities in the House and the Senate,” Hegseth said. “Joe Biden promised a return to normal, and you're going to see governors and others attempt to create that return to normal, not because of science but because of politics.”

The press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—who has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of vaccine and mask mandates in politics—argued that Democrats are only temporarily abandoning efforts to mitigate the pandemic that killed more than 900,000 Americans in two years. 

“Wherever Democrats hang on to power after this November, there will be mask mandates, school closures, and continued requirements to show your papers at restaurants next winter,” Christina Pushaw tweeted. “No matter what they say before the election, this is what will happen.”

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