Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), on Wednesday said American life should return to normal due to waning Chinese coronavirus infections.
“Democrats’ plan to fight COVID is working. Cases are down & vaccines are widely available,” Maloney said. “Now, it’s time to give people their lives back. With science as our guide, we’re ready to start getting back to normal.”
Maloney’s statement comes as coronavirus vaccines have been widely available since the summer, according to President Joe Biden. The Omicron and Delta variants have since wreaked havoc on the nation, despite Biden’s promises in 2020 to shut down the virus.
The variants caused Democrat-controlled localities to implement mask and vaccine mandates. But many Republican states, such as Florida and Texas, have been operating normally with banned mask mandates since the spring and summer.
The science of coronavirus transmission has not changed since the beginning of the pandemic. Yet Democrat-controlled states around the nation have begun to ease mask restrictions. New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, Delaware, and California are set to terminate either some or all mask mandates in the coming months, with Connecticut weighing its decision.
The pivot from “mandate culture” towards “getting back to normal” follows January polling that revealed Biden’s approval rating on handling the coronavirus was six points underwater. Moreover, the topic of coronavirus has been replaced by the economy as the number one issue in the nation among voters.