PolitiFact FL: COVID19 Lockdowns Returning? Heres Why Public Health Experts Say Thats Unlikely

Cases caused by variants of COVID-19 are increasing, and several schools and businesses across the United States have temporarily reinstated mask requirements to slow the spread of the virus.

Now some are sounding the alarm that tougher restrictions are on the horizon.

“They will bring back the freak bans. They will reinstate the requirement to wear face masks in schools,” one person said in a TikTok video on August 21. “They will cancel orders for injections. They're going to close churches, they're going to close small businesses.

Another TikTok video shared on August 30 said: “If we allow this blockade, it will last forever.”

Social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and

The statements were made by conservative commentators and politicians, including InfoWars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, former President Donald Trump, Fox News host Laura Ingram and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

But health experts say it is highly unlikely that the U.S. will reinstate the nationwide mask mandates and travel restrictions that were in place at the start of the pandemic. This is partly because immunity is now more widespread than when the virus first appeared.

Experts say a return to restrictions at the start of the pandemic would be very difficult

Several public health and health policy experts told PolitiFact that it is highly unlikely that any level of government (local, state or federal) will reinstate widespread mask mandates or stay-at-home orders in response to COVID-19.

“We’re in a very, very different place now. “These measures were put in place several years ago, before there was a vaccine and treatment for COVID,” said Chief Medical Officer Marcus Plescia. For the College of Health Practitioners of the States and Territories.

Immunity against the virus through vaccination or infection is significantly higher today than at the beginning of the pandemic. About 81 percent of all Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in May. The Food and Drug Administration has approved Paklovid to treat COVID-19.

Experts say a return to the initial mandates of the pandemic will also be ineffective given today's political climate.

William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said it would be counterproductive from a public health perspective to recommend or mandate restrictions that many people would not practice in their daily lives.

He said he doesn't see what health experts consider extreme: "I don't know anyone who would consider a lockdown, let alone impose it."

Legal challenges and legislation have also weakened the government's ability to impose restrictions in response to public health emergencies, experts said. For example, the Supreme Court struck down the Biden administration's January 2022 executive order mandating mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations and testing for large employers.

Wendy Parmett, faculty director of Northeastern University's Center for Health Policy and Law, said: "This situation creates uncertainty about what legal authority the government has to implement some of the types of mandates it is imposing in 2020 and 2021. “

Jennifer Piatt, co-director of Arizona State University's Center for Health Law and Policy, said government officials are reluctant to exercise their authority for fear of political backlash or litigation.

Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Rosemary Hills Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Los Angeles-based media and entertainment company Lionsgate are among the institutions adopting makeshift masks in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Experts believe that such decisions will remain at the institutional level.

The Association of State and Territory Health Officials "believes that the right way forward now is that we will not enforce the government's mandate, but that the authorities can decide to make some of these decisions, on a case by case basis." ." Case basis." - said Plesia.

States and cities have issued the most COVID-19 orders

Some of these social media posts are related to returning COVID-19 “blockades” to President Joe Biden or the federal government. But it confuses both parties.

In the context of an epidemic, the dictionary definition of a lockdown is "a temporary condition imposed by public authorities...requiring most people to avoid or limit social contacts such as eating out or attending large gatherings."

The word “closure” was used more liberally to contain any pandemic. But Parmet said it was important to separate blockades and mandates.

"It's not the same. If you compare what is happening in China, for example, at the other end of the spectrum, we have never experienced a blockade in this country,” Parmet said. “This is completely wrong and scares a lot of people who talk about blockages.”

Additionally, stay-at-home orders, restrictions on private gatherings, mask requirements, and business closures were mostly imposed by states and cities, not the federal government.

“You won’t see (the federal government) trying to do that because that’s not what they do, it’s not within their jurisdiction,” Piatt said.

At the start of the pandemic, the federal government imposed temporary restrictions on international travel and required masks to be worn on planes, trains and buses. The White House also released COVID-19 guidance for states.

What you need to know about COVID-19 options

Public health experts widely agree that the United States is past the pandemic stage and that, like the flu, COVID-19 has become endemic.

“This is a virus that will be with us forever,” said the doctor. Leana Wen, professor of public health at George Washington University.

And as COVID-19 hospitalizations increase, scientists and health authorities are closely monitoring two versions of the OMicron variant, EG.5 and BA.2.86.

According to the CDC, EG.5 is currently associated with most reported cases in the United States, accounting for about 22% of cases in the first week of September.

The sub-variant is most likely transmitted due to a mutation that helps many people avoid antibodies produced by the COVID-19 vaccine or a previous infection. However, the World Health Organization found no difference in the severity of the disease.

BA.2.86 COVID-19 has been detected in small numbers in some countries, including the United States, according to the CDC.

An updated COVID-19 booster vaccine against Omicron variants will be available this fall.

Our resources

• Interview with William Schaffner, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, September 5, 2023.
• Interview with Jennifer Piatt, Director, Center for Public Health Law and Policy, Arizona State University, September 5, 2023.
• Interview with Wendy Parmet, Faculty Director, Center for Health Policy and Law, Northeastern University, September 6, 2023.
• Interview with Marcus Plescia, Chief Medical Officer of the States and Territories Association of Health Professionals, September 6, 2023.
• Email interview with Leana Wen, Professor of Public Health, George Washington University, September 5, 2023.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Covid Data Tracking System – Different Percentages,” September 1, 2023.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “US Covid-Vaccine Data Tracking System,” May 11, 2023.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “SARS CoV-2 Variant Update BA.2.86,” August 30, 2023.
• World Health Organization, “Update of EG.5 Variant of Interest and BA.2.86 Variant Tracking,” August 23, 2023.
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “FDA Approves First Oral Antiviral Drug to Treat COVID-19 in Adults,” May 25, 2023.
• Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “Definition of Block,” accessed September 8, 2023.
• PolitiFact: “Conservatives say Biden and Democrats want more shutdown. Not true,” August 12, 2021.
• FactCheck.org, “No Support for Claims of Return of COVID-19 ‘Lockdowns’ This Fall,” August 28, 2023.
• Associated Press, “Conspiracy theorists spread false information about refunds for COVID-19 orders,” August 24, 2023.
• Associated Press, “U.S. Covid-19 hospitalizations rise again, but not as high as before,” August 8, 2023.
• NBC News, “Modern says new wave of Covid works against heavily mutated BA.2.86 variant,” September 6, 2023
• New York Times, “New Covid variants: What you need to know about BA.2.86 and EG.5,” September 5, 2023.
• Washington Post: “Masks are required in some schools. Conservatives Strike Back,” September 6, 2023.
• Washington Post, “Covid Response Hampers Public Health and Future Pandemic,” March 8, 2023.
• CNBC, “Biden administration drops Covid vaccination requirement for businesses after losing Supreme Court case,” January 25, 2022
• Yale Medicine, “What You Need to Know About EG.5 (Eris): The Latest Coronavirus Vaccine,” August 18, 2023.
• Fox5 Atlanta, “Morris Brown College adopts two-week COVID-19 mask mandate as cases rise,” August 22, 2023.
• Deadline: “Lionsgate resumes mask requirement in parts of Santa Monica office following Covid outbreak,” August 21, 2023.
• NPR, “China announces easing of strict COVID-19 measures,” December 7, 2022.
• InfoWars, “EXCLUSIVE: Admin Biden plans to lift FULL Covid restrictions starting in mid-September,” August 18, 2023.
• Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, September 6, 2023
• TikTok video from August 21, 2023
• TikTok video from August 30, 2023
• TikTok video from August 24, 2023
• TikTok video from August 26, 2023
• TikTok video from August 18, 2023
• Facebook video, August 31, 2023
• Real Instagram August 20, 2023
• Team Trump Issue X August 30, 2023
• Ron DeSantis Issue X September 6, 2023
• Issue X, August 28, 2023
• Issue X, September 7, 2023

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