Pandemic’s end not our choice to make
The lifting of statewide school mask mandates should have been taken as a victory by those who oppose COVID restrictions. That doesn’t seem to have happened. Two years into the pandemic, it would do everyone some good to take a few deep breaths. Gov. Ned Lamont, following actions of many other governors nationwide, recently lifted the requirement for students and school staff members to be masked, with that decision now falling to local school districts. This came despite positivity rates that, while down from the omicron peak, are higher than they were in the fall, and the nationwide death toll continues to be stubbornly elevated. Regarding long COVID, there’s so much we simply don’t know.
Still, the controversy over masks will not abate. Even as many local districts moved quickly to lift restrictions come March, there will be parents who insist their children continue to wear them. That is their right. Everyone needs to respect the decisions of parents and students to be as cautious as they feel is necessary.
It’s not just schools. Though there hasn’t been an overall statewide mask mandate in months, many cities have their own restrictions in place, and plan to stick with them. Different elected officials are making a different decision, and they are not wrong to insist on a higher standard. Asking customers to wear a mask to shop in, say, New Haven, is not a lot to ask.
What we can’t do is take out frustrations on retail workers, who clearly are not the ones making the decision on masking one way or the other. No matter how mad you are, you do not have the right to take out your frustrations on the minimum-wage-earning teenager who asks you to abide by store policy. All too frequently, we’re hearing stories that play out exactly that way.
Then there are lawmakers. At an extended debate over COVID emergency declarations on Thursday, a small group of legislators refused to mask up, against policy, and was asked to leave the floor. Their behavior was childish and unacceptable. Everyone had a chance to make whatever point they wanted to make, but refusing to abide by clearly stated policy is not among the options. They make for poor role models with that type of behavior.
Unfortunately, such actions are spreading to all corners of society. For instance, former UConn quarterback and current ESPN mainstay Dan Orlovsky on Friday said on Twitter he was thinking about leaving Connecticut, where he was born and raised, over COVID restrictions. “Ned Lamont, it’s not good enough. Give parents the choice and not pass responsibility.”
One can only wonder what he’s thinking. Should school boards not be allowed to require masks?
Maybe one retired football player isn’t the best judge of the state’s mood, but it’s the kind of talk you hear all the time. And it’s true, everyone is tired of COVID. Unfortunately, we don’t get to decide when we’re done with the pandemic. It operates on its own schedule.
Even as many local districts moved quickly to lift restrictions come March, there will be parents that insist their children continue to wear them. That is their right.