Biden administration' extends mask mandate despite poll
The “Biden administration” has decided to extend the federal mask mandate on public transportation for another 15 days. The mandate was set to expire on April 18th but will now be set to end on May 3rd under orders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
But it seems the Biden administration is at odds with Americans, who are ready to move on from COVID-19 according to a new Axios poll.
According to the survey of 1,043 adults, less than one in 10 Americans still think COVID-19 is a “crisis”. Three in four consider it a “manageable problem” and one in six say it’s not a problem at all.
Split down party lines, Democrats are five times more likely than Republicans to think COVID-19 is a crisis. Still, only 16% of Democrats said it’s a crisis, along with 3% of Republicans.
“Here's another way to look at the overall numbers: About twice as large a share of Americans said COVID-19 is ‘not a problem at all’ (17%) than said it is ‘a serious crisis’ (9%),” wrote Axios. “Americans are ready for coronavirus regulations to ease up – if they haven’t already,” the pollsters added.
Speaking with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell today, Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested that 15 days is not enough time.
“Why only 15 days?” asked Mitchell.
“Well I think, Angie, because it’s a moving target and we really want to see what the pattern is here in the United States. I think making a decision for April 18th, uh, I would agree that we really do need more time.”
But as suggested by the Axios poll, many Americans do not agree.
“The airline mask mandate has just been extended by 15 days. Another 15 days to slow the spread?” tweeted Dr. David Samadi.
“Federal Mask mandate extended on planes unless you’re an illegal immigrant being shipped across the country in the middle of the night in which case, do what you want because ‘the adults are back in the room.’ There has never been a dumber time to be alive,” wrote Fox Across America Host Jimmy Failla.
“I would like the CDC to explicitly state what waiting 15 days to drop the airplane mask mandate will do,” said another user. “What on earth will change in the next 15 days? And I don’t want to hear ANYTHING about ‘two weeks to slow the spread.’ We already know how that goes.”
