Is This the End for Mask Mandates?

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A number of blue blob states are signaling that an end to their mask mandates may be coming soon. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is reported to be preparing an end to school mask mandates in the second week of March. Fox 5 reports:

The change will take effect the second week of March as temperatures get milder and ventilation becomes possible, Murphy told the paper.

The Democratic governors in New York and Connecticut have foreshadowed in recent days that they may lift school mask mandates, too.

Individual districts could still require masks if mandates get lifted.

New Jersey has required masks in schools since September 2020 after reopening following a four-month lockdown.

The move by some blue states to ease back on mask mandates for kids comes as an Illinois judge has granted a temporary restraining order on the state’s mask mandate. Hot Air reports:

The ruling applies to all school districts named in the combined lawsuits, including many of the largest districts in the Chicago area which were named in the lawsuit. In addition to the mask mandate, the ruling also prevents these schools from forbidding physical entry to students and staff members who have been in close contact with others who have tested positive for COVID. The Governor’s office immediately appealed the ruling, so this may still turn out to be a temporary victory for the plaintiffs. (CBS Chicago)

A downstate judge has granted a temporary restraining order in favor of a group that sued to end COVID-19 mask mandates in Illinois public school districts.

Sangamon County Judge Raylene DeWitte Grischow’s ruling came down at 4:45 p.m. Friday. In addition to finding in favor of those challenging school mask mandates, the ruling also comes out against schools forbidding students and staff from coming into school buildings if they are close contacts of positive COVID-19 cases.

The order does not name specific school districts, but in a footnote, it says the emergency rules on mask mandates and other mitigations for schools issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health are “null and void.”

The judge took pains to acknowledge the damage caused by the pandemic and the obligation of the government to take reasonable measures to promote public health and safety. But the ruling also notes that there are limits to executive authority even during an emergency and such a condition does not allow the state government “to act unlawfully even in the pursuit of desirable ends.”

Americans, like their trucker friends in Canada, are tired of COVID restrictions. Even liberal talk show host Bill Maher is asking COVID regulators “How Much Wrong Do You Get to Be?” Red State’s Nick Arama reports:

Two weeks ago, he had on Bari Weiss, who excoriated the restrictions and how much they had hurt kids — she called it a “catastrophic moral crime.” Last week, Maher himself tore into the left and how they had “gone mental” with their crazy policies and rules.

Maher said Americans were just tired of Democratic rules — even before COVID came along.

Democrats have become a parody of themselves. Just making rules to make rules because it makes you feel like you’re a better person. Making sure that everything bad never happens again, which you can never fully do, it just makes everybody else’s life a drag….Democrats no longer possess the common sense to understand that not every problem in the world can be fixed with a regulation.

This week, he went to town on the COVID restrictions.

Bill Maher continues to tee off on our nation’s insane covid restrictions: pic.twitter.com/MjhWuImHmF

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) February 6, 2022

He noted how a growing number of countries around the world were returning to “something more like normal,” and that it was time that we did, too, starting with acknowledging that “what we’re doing to kids is unnecessary and horrible, and I don’t even like kids.”

He noted the survivability rate of kids with COVID and said that despite that, we have them “mask up like bandits.”

“Unfortunately the thing that’s getting stolen is their education, their sanity, and their social skills.”

We’re seeing more and more of the kids standing up for their own freedoms, protesting masking and other restrictions in their schools.

Maher also pointed out the meta-analysis study this past week from Johns Hopkins, which noted that “the lockdowns we all suffered through had little impact in reducing COVID deaths.” The study from the researchers concluded that lockdowns were bad public policy and caused devastating harm. Meanwhile, the liberal media has largely ignored the study. “That’s kind of a big one to get wrong,” Maher noted.

Action Line: It’s time to get kids, and America, back to normal. If your state doesn’t respect your freedom, it’s time to move to one of my Super States. If you need an extra push to get serious and make the move, click here to subscribe to my monthly Survive & Thrive letter. I’ll help you bust through inertia and achieve your goals. But only if you’re serious.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.