On Fri., city health officials announced that Philadelphia has lifted its indoor mask policy following a vote from the city's Board of Health on Thu. This comes just days after the mandate was reinstated by Philadelphia's Health Dept.
After previously ending its mask mandate on Mar. 2, the Health Department announced on Apr. 11 that indoor face masks would be reinstated starting Apr. 18.
Though many wish it to be, COVID is not over. Masks have become politicized and unpopular when, in reality, they are a tool to protect everyone. Too much time is wasted fighting each other rather than fighting the pandemic. We can't continue to put selfish interests before science.
While wearing a mask might provide the illusion of safety to some people, it doesn't actually do much other than provide a false sense of security and spread alarmism. Masks were an excellent weapon authorities could use to spread their message of constant fear, division, and dehumanization.