Last August, Keene instituted a mask mandate within its political boundaries for no good reason or benefit. It defined suitable face coverings and when they were required. On May 20th, they have voted to end the mandate.
After weeks of discussion about the future of the mask ordinance, the City Council voted 13-2 Thursday night to amend it so it ends in a little more than a week, rather than having its expiration tied to New Hampshire’s COVID-related state of emergency as originally written. The council’s decision follows new recommendations from public health officials and increasing rates of vaccination.
“The CDC is in agreement with ending the mask ordinance,” Councilor Mitch Greenwald said during Thursday’s meeting, referring to the agency’s most recent guidance for mask-wearing. “I do want to stress, it’s not saying ending the need for masks, but the mandatory masks. We’ve received many public communications that this needs to end. We need to get back to normal. This is about personal and mental health; it’s about business, it’s about personal responsibility.”
Kudos to Greenwald for hitting it out of the park on personal responsibility, but clarification is needed. What the CDC says has very little meaning. If there was ever any doubt about its leadership being politicians first and scientists further down the list, the past 14-months have removed all doubt.
Related: “Public Health” is Just Another Mule for Tyranny
The National Institutes for Health (Fauci-Inc.), the CDC (Centers for Democrat Controls), and with few exceptions state and local boards and departments of health and their leading officials are all political creatures.
We applaud the dropping of mandates, but the underlying problem remains. Public Health is now a buzzword for population control. The state can establish faith-based infringements (scientism) and prohibit free expressions contrary to their sanctioned dogma.
Legislators need your support and encouragement to remove these avenues for abuse so that neither elected officials nor their bureaucratic health apparatus homonculi can abrogate your civil rights with ease for any duration they decide, even when there’s plenty of science that suggests their “solutions” do nothing or worse, cause more harm.
Then take that support to the local level and replace your town officials with people who trust you more than their government.
Note: Keene’s outdoor mandate ended immediately after the vote on Thursday. The indoor mandate ends on June 1.
