Will Americans Tolerate COVID Restrictions If Cases Rise Again?

The NPR Politics Podcast

NPR

Politics, Daily News, News

4.5 • 24.9K Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2022

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Even Democratic areas have begun to relax COVID restrictions as the Omicron wave ebbs, but another wave could mean the restrictions have to come back. Outside public health experts say that the federal government should establish a data-driven plan to help the public understand when and why safety measures like masking are necessary.

And the January 6th investigation in Congress continues its work seeking documents and interviewing hundreds of witnesses. It is all building toward public hearings in the spring, where members will explain to the public what they have discovered about the insurrection.

This episode: White House correspondent Ayesha Rascoe, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales, and health correspondent Allison Aubrey.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Becky from Perry's Berkohyle. I am about to take off on a 10 mile run to celebrate my
0:06.2	1000th consecutive day of running one mile or more. This podcast was recorded at...
0:12.8	It is 12.08pm on Friday, February 18, 2022.
0:19.3	Things may have changed by the time you hear this, but my running streak will finally have a comma,
0:23.9	and I will still be running at least a mile every single day. Okay, enjoy the show!
0:33.8	Well, that is laudable, but this comes just as I was starting to feel better about myself in fitness.
0:41.4	Now I'm not.
0:42.1	No, but that is a huge achievement. I've just started working out like five to ten minutes
0:53.6	of a couple of days a week and I'm exhausted. I'm serious, okay?
1:00.2	I'm trying to think of what I've done a thousand days in a row. I've had a cup of coffee a thousand days in a row.
1:06.6	Hey there, it's the MPR Politics podcast. I'm Aisha Roscoe. I cover the White House.
1:11.6	I'm Dominica Montenora, Senior Political Editor and Correspondent.
1:14.8	An Allison Aubrey of MPR's Health team is here. Hi, Allison.
1:19.6	Hey, great to be here, guys. So right now a lot of people are very impatient about the pandemic,
1:26.5	and they want it to end. Americans are ready to move on. Even in places like New York State and DC,
1:37.0	democratic strongholds that have had pretty tough pandemic standards, mass mandates, and vaccine
1:44.4	requirements around events and dining are being lifted. So in much of the country,
1:51.0	Omekron has waned and life is in some ways returning to normal. So, Allison, let's start with this.
1:59.8	President Biden and the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
2:04.1	they have suggested that trying to completely return to normal right now is premature,
2:10.6	but it seems like that's where a lot of people are at in this country.
2:14.4	You know, I just think that we're at a very confusing moment on one hand.
	...

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