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It's a fight Republicans are amplifying, not one Democrats in Congress or the White House are embracing, ahead of the 2024 presidential election. ... Yet far from embracing mask mandates, the White House is trying to stay out of the politically fraught issue, arguing it is up to local officials to decide whether they want to follow mask guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's a marked departure from the COVID-19 politics of a few years ago, when President Joe Biden actively encouraged Americans to mask up. (Garrison, Kochi, Jackson, Kuchar, Schermele, and Tran, 9/8)

Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s push to ban mask mandates was shot down by progressive Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., on Thursday, with the New England Democrat arguing that health officials need "freedom to make those decisions." Vance took to the Senate floor on Thursday to force consideration of his bill, the Freedom to Breathe Act, aimed at banning federal mask mandates in public schools, for domestic air travel and on public transit. He called for its passage via unanimous consent, a largely symbolic move. (Elkind, 9/7)

Vance wanted unanimous consent from senators in both parties, but he didn't get it. "This bill is a red herring," Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said. "It is a false debate. We should have an aquarium down in the well of the senate to capture all the red herrings that are being introduced." (9/7)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday criticized recent efforts across the U.S. to tamp down a recent jump in COVID-19 cases through temporary restrictions or masking, and his state surgeon general warned against getting the latest COVID-19 vaccine, which is expected to be available this month. The criticism from DeSantis at news conference in Jacksonville, Florida, arrived the same day that his campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination sent out an email to supporters vowing to “fight back against every bogus attempt the Left makes to expand government control” when it comes to COVID-19 precautions. (9/7)

The City Council approved the motion, which was introduced by Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark, in a 4-3 vote Tuesday. The motion asserted that the mask mandates that were previously imposed in the city “unnecessarily limited the freedoms of the citizens of Huntington Beach, even those who were not around anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 or at risk of any exposure.” The ban applies to city personnel and not to private businesses in the city. (Lin, 9/7)

On college campuses, the return of students for the fall semester coincides with the return of a still-worrisome health threat: the coronavirus. Some are already reporting cases of infection. Many are encouraging students to get tested if they have covid-19 symptoms and stay current on their vaccinations. Colleges are also reminding students and employees to isolate for five days, following public health recommendations, if they test positive for the virus. Exactly how and where infected students would isolate can be tricky, though, depending on whether schools have enough spare rooms. (Anderson and Svrluga, 9/8)

An elementary school in Silver Spring, Maryland, boosted its security and kept recess indoors Thursday after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz criticized the school's decision to require children in one classroom to wear masks after several people in the class got COVID. Four people in a kindergarten classroom at Rosemary Hills Elementary School tested positive for COVID, prompting Principal Rebecca Irwin Kennedy to send a letter to parents on Tuesday. Kennedy said in the letter that students in the class would be required to wear a mask for the next 10 days. (Spencer, 9/7)

People are now required to wear masks at all St. Lawrence Health facilities. Officials say it’s due to the increase in Covid-19 infections in the north country. Masks are required for all staff, patients, and visitors at Canton-Potsdam, Gouverneur, and Massena hospitals, along with hospital-related off-site medical offices. (9/7)

Masking may not be a thing of the past anymore, especially if these three scenarios apply to you, says an infectious diseases physician. (Onque, 9/7)

Inadequate pandemic infection control and medical care at two state-run veterans homes violated the U.S. Constitution and still put residents at risk for Covid-19 and other infections, the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey said Thursday. The findings at the Menlo Park and Paramus veterans homes deal a heavy blow to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, whose response to the pandemic at those nursing facilities had been heavily criticized since Covid-19 reached New Jersey in March 2020. The two federal agencies detail the administration’s early failures as the coronavirus ripped through the homes, in many ways validating the scrutiny on Murphy and the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which run the facilities. (Racioppi, 9/7)