There's been no point in this pandemic
where everyone has been on the same page about masks.
No point at all. Initially, the CDC said
that masks don't help with COVID.
That's what they said, right?
Then I guess maybe they googled something,
and then they decided, no, no, no, if you don't wear a mask,
you're gonna kill your grandma.
Then, because of all of that, we've just had people arguing,
arguing the whole time about masks.
Mask this, mask that.
People arguing with strangers in the street
about proper mask wearing etiquette.
It's below your nose! It's above your chin!
Yours has a dolphin! Where can I get one of those?
And for a long time, red states and blue states
had completely opposite mask policies, right?
But now many blue states are starting to change their tune.
Some strong indicators of the receding Omicron wave
and the country's move toward a new normal.
One by one, five states just announced dates
to end mask mandates in schools, childcare centers
or end indoor masking entirely.
New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Oregon
all ending their school mask mandates
either this month or next.
Delaware and Oregon will also drop
their statewide indoor mask mandates entirely soon.
NEWSWOMAN: New Jersey governor Bill Murphy said
his decision to drop a statewide school mask mandate
is not a declaration of victory over the virus.
We're not gonna manage COVID to zero.
We have to learn how to live with COVID.
NEWSWOMAN: But many parents are still concerned,
as only about 22% of children age five to 11
are fully vaccinated.
Significantly lower than the nearly 75% of adults.
It seems to be a recipe for disaster,
sending them in without masks on.
Oh, boy. Yup, this is a complicated issue.
On the one hand, masks can do a lot to keep kids safe.
Right? They can also help to prevent the spread of COVID
to teachers and to staff.
And, on top of that, they can help hide
all of those middle school mustaches.
I mean, I don't know why you need that-- you're 14.
Why do you look like a porn star?
But you also have to weigh the benefits against the downside.
Because kids need to see each other's faces
to advance their emotional development,
and it makes it easier to understand
what the teacher is saying.
And they need a place to store their pencils
when they're not using them.
But more and more, blue states are weighing the pros
against the cons, and they're changing their tune.
And they're deciding
that it's time to get rid of mask mandates,
And not just schools, by the way.
Mask mandates are being repealed for adults, too.
Mostly because the Omicron wave is subsiding,
but also because Democratic politicians,
they just can't seem to stop doing stuff like this.
Well, Stacey Abrams, a Democratic candidate
for Georgia governor, faces criticism tonight
for what she didn't put on her face.
These are pictures that both Abrams and the principal
of an Atlanta area elementary school
tweeted out last week.
Abrams was attending
a Black History Month reading event,
and you can see the children in the class are wearing masks.
Teachers, staff and guests in the class are wearing masks.
Stacey Abrams is not.
The event was in Decatur.
That city and school district have mask mandates.
Now, since the backlash started, Abrams has deleted the tweet,
and the school's principal who first tweeted the pictures
has deactivated her Twitter account.
NEWSWOMAN: The Abrams campaign suggests
the attacks are politically motivated.
The Abrams campaign also told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
that she wore a mask to that school
but later removed it so she could be heard
by students watching remotely and for the photos
on the condition that everyone around her was wearing masks.
Aah, Stacey Abrams.
Ugh, come on.
You can just say that you messed up.
You can just say that.
Your team doesn't need to be like, "Oh, no,
"Stacey only removed the mask
so that the kids could hear her speech."
First of all,
no little kids want to hear a speech from a politician.
All right? Especially the kids doing remote learning at home.
Mask or no mask, those kids are not listening to you.
They're watching Peppa Pig in another tab.
It's not about the kids.
Just say, "I was doing the thing."
'Cause everyone's got a reason for taking off the mask.
"No, I didn't take off the mask.
I only took off the mask because I needed to take off the mask."
Yeah, that's why everyone takes off the mask.
That's why you're not allowed to take off the mask.
And Stacey's campaign, for them to say
the criticism is politically motivated, that might be true.
But then again, so was posting the picture in the first place.
I mean, the picture was politics.
Right? Politics is the only reason
people hang out with second graders that they don't know.
Or at least the only reason that doesn't get you arrested.
And you know what? That's the real issue here.
Going to this classroom in the first place.
Abrams is campaigning for governor of Georgia,
so why waste your time meeting kids who can't even vote
when you could be out in the streets
meeting adults in Georgia who also can't vote?
Although I guess this may be part of Stacey's plan.
You know? You meet with the schoolkids,
and then if they line up at the polls now,
they'll turn 18 by the time they reach the voting booth.
That's pretty smart, actually. Yeah.
I take my mask off to you, madame.
But look, as bad as this was, at least Stacey Abrams
didn't make the masking rules in Georgia.
Because if you break the rules that you make,
that's-that's much worse for you.
Which is exactly what happened in Los Angeles over the weekend.
NEWSMAN: California Governor Gavin Newsom
along with the mayors of L.A. and San Francisco
on the defensive over photos showing them without masks
posing with Magic Johnson.
NEWSWOMAN: The politicians were seen here at SoFi Stadium
over the weekend at the Rams-49ers game
not wearing masks.
L.A. County rules state people at large events
have to wear masks except when eating or drinking.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
defending his maskless picture with Magic Johnson.
In an exchange with a reporter Wednesday,
Garcetti claims he held his breath.
I'm used to, uh, criticism as a public figure.
I've been wearing a mask the entire game long.
People want a picture. I hold my breath.
Zero risk.
This guy being serious?
Like, that's a real thing?
See me? Just...
He wasn't holding his breath. All right? Everyone knows
when you hold your breath, your face does this.
(exhales loudly)
That's holding your breath.
Now, look, am I saying
that, oh, politicians need
to always hold themselves accountable
to every single law that they impose on us?
Kind of. Yeah.
Or at least have a better reason to break the laws
than, "Oh, shit! It's Magic Johnson!"
That's so irresponsible.
You're supposed to set the example.
And if you ask me, the biggest scandal here
is that Garcetti is making it sound
like Magic asked him for a picture.
You hear the way he said it? "Oh, when people ask me for..."
No. No. My man, my man,
if two people take a picture together,
the person who sucks at basketball,
they're the ones who ask for the picture.
That's the rules of taking pictures.
So, again, like, why can't politicians
admit when they messed up?
Instead of deleting tweets and offering weird excuses,
just say, "You know what? I messed up.
"I wanted to see my face in the picture,
and when the mask is on, it's not as cool."
Because the rest of us actually get that. Right?
Taking a photo with a mask on sucks.
It's weird.
People take photos smiling, right?
Unless it's, like, the 1850s.
'Cause all those photos are more like...
"This camera had better not steal my soul."
But other than that, people smile in photos.
That's kind of the whole point. We get it.
So, look, I... I'm not an epidemiologist,
but maybe... maybe it's a good thing
that mask mandates are starting to go away.
Students in school will be able to interact normally.
Democrats can stop getting tripped up
by their own mask mandates.
And for me, well, I'll finally be able to tell
when the waiter is judging me for ordering off the kids' menu.