Prominent Democrats Join Republicans in Opposition to COVID-19 Lockdowns
Summary from the AllSides News Team
After nearly two years of partisan divides over COVID-19 lockdowns, some Democrats are now pushing to avoid lockdowns even as COVID-19 cases in the U.S. reach new highs.
In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) is in a stand-off with the city's teachers' union; Lightfoot says in-person classes should resume for Chicago schools, but the union disagrees. In New York, Democratic leaders have also pushed for schools to remain open despite surging COVID-19 cases. In Colorado, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis last month declared that vaccines mean "the end of the medical emergency." In California, Democratic leaders say the Super Bowl will continue without attendance restrictions in Los Angeles next month. In North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper says we "have to learn how to live with it, and continue to keep our kids in school and our businesses open." Many Democrats continue to encourage vaccination, but few are returning to lockdown measures.
Outlets across the spectrum often attributed the change in tune to evolving science and official guidance about COVID-19 and Democrats' desire to win over COVID-weary voters in the 2022 midterm elections. Many reports mentioned how people are worn out by COVID-19's impact on their lives; public opinion data that suggests people are less worried about the Omicron variant; and concerns that the public health benefits of lockdowns were outweighed by negative effects on the economy and mental health, particularly for children.
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