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Mask mandate rescinded for St. Louis city employees, area hospitals say they aren't strainedHospitals around the area told 5 On Your Side that they're seeing a "typical winter" in terms of COVID-19, RSV and flu cases.KSDKSam Clancy, Hunter Bassler, Mark MaxwellPublished: 9:02 AM CST January 5, 2024; Updated: 4:21 PM CST January 5, 2024 City of St. Louis officials announced Friday afternoon that it is no longer requiring city employees to wear a mask while working, less than 24 hours after issuing a mask mandate."The City of St. Louis has updated its communications with employees surrounding masking," a statement from Mayor Tishaura Jones' office said. "The City of St. Louis Department of Health strongly recommends masking indoors for all City of St. Louis employees, effective immediately."St. Louis Director of Health Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis originally said on Thursday that "significant increases" in COVID-19, RSV and flu cases in the city were the reason behind the mask order. However, on Friday morning, the department replaced its original statistics with less alarming data showing respiratory viruses trending up.Area hospitals seemed surprised when the city originally issued the mask mandate."BJC is not seeing a strain on hospital capacity," BJC Health Care officials told 5 On Your Side. We are experiencing a seasonal increase in respiratory illness, which is typical for this time of year." Mercy Hospital described it as a "typical winter." St. Louis County said they haven't seen any out-of-the-ordinary strains on the health system. ...
Rule3O3@Rule3O3Emergency mini 🧵on an insane drama unfolding in St. Louis. Heard this from a pal who teaches at Wash U: 1/10Yesterday, out of the blue, the health director (above) staged a public policy putsch by imposing a mask mandate on the city. Evidently she did this without consulting - maybe without even warning - her mayor, the regional heads of hospital, local presbyters & big shots, etc. This was so irregular at first people thought the order might be a prank.Turns out it was real. Her reason for issuing the mandate was to reduce strain on the hospital system, which she said was foundering under a surge of respiratory illness.Interestingly, she did not justify masking as a response to Covid only, but to flu and RSV, citing case increases of 50% and 150% above the 5 year average. Naturally this freaked people out even more, because linking mask mandates to bugs other than Covid implied they might never go away.The peasants would’ve revolted, but they didn’t get a chance. The nobles beat them to it. People with titles complained, in chorus.Could the Director of the Health Department, an Infectious Disease physician, really make a mistake this big, and dumb?Why that’d be like finding out the president of Harvard is an impostor.The hospitals made a statement: “We are not overwhelmed. So far this is a normal winter.” Ouch. This made it obvious she hadn’t bothered to talk to them, but had simply used the “shortage of ICU beds” copypasta from 3 years ago.St. Louis docs must really like this gal because they helped her further into the ditch by pointing out a flaw some of you already noticed in her analysis: The 5 year average includes an anomaly, winter 20-21, lowest for flu in the modern history of records. Every normal year will be above the 5 year average until it excretes that anomaly.Now this mistake too could have been easily avoided just by talking to a few members of the profession she makes policy for.But incompetent people don’t like talking to competent ones. It’s not fun for them. Feels like being told you’re wrong all the time. Feels like not being in charge. They learn to avoid the experience. Today the mask mandate was rescinded. Lived less than 24hrs. To save face they let her issue an “update” that “strongly recommends” masking.I mean, you can’t have your Health Director losing her self-confidence in the midst of a crisis she imagined.Correction: The mandate was NOT for the entire city, just public employees. (Though that makes the idea even *less* rational, because masking 10k out of 300k in a metro area with 3m has zero chance of producing any benefit. It’s homeopathy applied to NPIs.)
From Twitter:QuoteRule3O3@Rule3O3Emergency mini 🧵on an insane drama unfolding in St. Louis. Heard this from a pal who teaches at Wash U: 1/10Yesterday, out of the blue, the health director (above) staged a public policy putsch by imposing a mask mandate on the city. Evidently she did this without consulting - maybe without even warning . . .
Rule3O3@Rule3O3Emergency mini 🧵on an insane drama unfolding in St. Louis. Heard this from a pal who teaches at Wash U: 1/10Yesterday, out of the blue, the health director (above) staged a public policy putsch by imposing a mask mandate on the city. Evidently she did this without consulting - maybe without even warning . . .
And in shocking other news in the "I Told You So" section: "No evidence face masks protected vulnerable from Covid, health officials admit"Story in Telegraph(U.K.)
Washington University is a left-wing hell hole. Their ratio of post-grad salary over tuition costs may be the lowest in the world.
I earned a graduate degree there. My first day on campus, I was stunned to see overtly communist groups recruiting members.
I am so glad that you survived. It must have been quite a struggle.
That must have been quite the culture shock after your under-grad experience.
