The Definition Of Insanity Exhibit A: Mask Mandates Are Back In California, And More May Be Coming

For those who live in sane parts of the country or the rest of the world, it might be hard to believe that there are still debates over continuing mask mandates and forcing masking.

But California’s wardens do not adhere to the rules of a sane society.

And as a result mask mandates are making their triumphant return in parts of the state, at least in specific settings. It’s an indefensible betrayal of the scientific method, a victory for “experts” who deliberately mislead and misinformed the public since 2020, and a reminder that despite the overwhelming evidence that masks don’t work, there is a committed group of ideological extremists who are more than willing to enforce their authoritarian demands onto a disturbingly complying public.

Just a few days ago the health officer of Sonoma County in Northern California issued an order forcing health care workers to wear masks in areas where they’ll be treating patients. Kaiser hospitals in the state also reinstated mask mandates several weeks ago, adding to the absurdity.

The worst aspect of this order, and that’s a high bar to clear, is that there’s literally no substantial increase of COVID transmission or concerning surge of hospitalizations or deaths to justify this decision. And they don’t even attempt to claim that there’s a surge worth worrying about.

Dr. Karen (you can’t make this up) Smith is going to force healthcare workers in Sonoma to mask from November all the way through until April. Not because of any actual data, but because she presumes wrongly that masks will have any effect.

"The widespread availability of COVID-19 testing and treatment, the high level of community vaccination in the County, and the lower death rate seen in the most recent surges of COVID-19, Have diminished the necessity for year-round mandatory orders related to masking in multiple high-risk settings. However, the risk to vulnerable patients of COVID-19, influenza, and other respiratory viruses in Health Care Settings, including skilled nursing facilities, remains significant," the order reads.

In justifying her flagrant overreach, Smith issued a statement earlier in the week with a nonsensical, science-defying word salad about the risks of COVID several months into 2024.

"Patients and residents in our health care and congregate facilities, especially young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with chronic health conditions, are at greater risk for respiratory virus-related hospitalizations and death. Workers in direct care, health care, and congregate facilities are at risk for respiratory illness and can transmit the viruses to their clients, patients, and coworkers."

This statement betrays a horrifying lack of awareness, delusional misinterpretation, and reveals how COVID extremists intend to continue their ineffective policies forever instead of admitting their much documented mistakes.

The most obvious misdirection in the order is the disproven assumption that masks make any difference in reducing “respiratory virus-related hospitalization and death.”

As anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the pandemic now knows, there is no high quality data or evidence that masks are effective in preventing transmission, infection, or death.

In fact, there’s plenty of evidence showing the exact opposite. So much so that even Dr. Anthony Fauci, a fanatical disciple of pseudoscience, recently admitted as much.

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