Don't Look Now, but Mask Mandates Just Returned to Some Federal Buildings

Mask mandates are back, at least at some federal national parks. The Sandy Hook National Park, which is located in New Jersey, will now require attendees to wear masks again in all indoor spaces.

A mask mandate has been reinstated at Sandy Hook National Park following an uptick in COVID hospitalizations in the area.
Visitors will be required to wear a mask inside buildings at the New Jersey national park. Masks are mandatory in the Sandy Hook visitors center as well as any other building where events or tours are held.
The decision to reinstate the mask mandate was made after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that COVID hospital admissions were considered high in Monmouth County, where the park is located, and neighboring Ocean County. According to CDC data from the week ending January 6, Monmouth County and Ocean County have each seen 250 new hospital admissions of confirmed COVID cases.

This happened because of an executive order signed by Joe Biden that ties mask mandates to COVID-19 hospitalization levels in a given area. That means that if a local hospital gets enough COVID-19-positive patients, even if them having the coronavirus is ancillary to their condition, you will be wearing a mask again on federal property.

Any kind of lingering spike in cases could affect wide-reaching areas of the country.

This is thanks to a Biden EO requiring masks in federal buildings when the CDC's Covid hospitalization level is high for the county's hospital service area. Many people don't realize this order is still in effect. https://t.co/G76RkvCK5F
— Kelley K (@KelleyKga) January 16, 2024

To be frank, this is what happens when Americans decide to not demand contrition for the worst transgression of basic rights in modern American history. Following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a chance to not forgive and forget. That would have included an insistence via public pressure and the voting booth that all politicians who helped propagate that subversion of liberty be held accountable.

As we all know, that didn't happen. Republicans decided it wasn't a winning political issue and Democrats never cared in the first place. Thus, the 2022 election happened, bolstering Biden's resolve instead of forcing him to capitulate and reverse many of his worst orders. That's how you get a mask mandate in 2024 despite numerous studies showing they have little to no impact on the spread of COVID-19.

This is what always happens in America. Something bad happens, and everyone claims they won't forget. Then a squirrel shows up and they are on to the next thing, claiming that no one cares about that issue anymore. Well, they will be made to care. Get ready for some surprises over the coming year.