Last week I wrote about Governor Wolf’s manipulative and controlling mask mandate. The Governor declared that masks would be mandatory until 70% of Pennsylvanians were vaccinated. We are far from this arbitrary percentile and may never reach it here in the Commonwealth.
Just hours ago, the CDC issued new guidance for fully vaccinated Americans declaring that such individuals can resume normal activities without having to wear a mask or social distance. This is a positive sign that pre-pandemic life will be coming back in the not too distant future.
Additionally, the head of the national teacher’s union announced that they are supportive of getting our children back into the classroom five days a week next school year. Another positive sign that life will return to normal here soon. Being a father of four, with 3 kids still in the classroom, I know how important it is to get our children back to in-person education.
Unfortunately, the caveat to the CDC’s new guidance is that we must still abide by any state or local mask mandates. Their guidance is simply that, guidance. But will our Governor, who from the beginning of the pandemic has ruled with an iron fist and made his own rules, listen to the health professionals? If this is good enough for the CDC, it should be good enough for Governor Wolf and the people of Pennsylvania.
Governor Wolf has habitually mismanaged the Commonwealth during the pandemic through his executive overreach. He cut out the General Assembly from governing, and on his own: shut down businesses contributing to 2.5 million people unemployed, ignored Right-to-Know requests, instituted one of the worst vaccine rollouts in the country, ushered COVID positive patients to nursing homes resulting in over 12,000 deaths, hoarded millions of dollars’ worth of personal protective equipment, and did this, for the most part, behind closed doors and unwilling to answer questions before the press.
After all these mistakes, Governor Wolf has the opportunity to take a huge step towards making this right and following this commonsense guidance to liberate Pennsylvania’s people, schools, and our economy.
Senator Mike Regan represents Pennsylvania’s 31st Senatorial District covering parts of Cumberland and York Counties.
CONTACT: Bruce McLanahan, 717-787-8524