Cleveland Browns quarterback lashes out at NFL over coronavirus protocols: 'Make up your damn mind'



Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield lashed out at the NFL over their coronavirus protocols after 19 players were placed on the COVID-19 list ahead of important games that will determine their standing in the playoffs.

Mayfield fired off a series of tweets criticizing the coronavirus protocols that might sideline many key players on the team, including himself.

"@NFL Make up your damn mind on protocols. Showing up and making only 3 teams test?!? All so you can keep the game as scheduled to make money," Mayfield tweeted on Thursday.

"Actually caring about player safety would mean delaying the game with this continuing at the rate it is…. But to say you won’t test vaccinated players if they don’t have symptoms, then to pull this randomly. Doesn’t make any sense to me," he added in a second tweet.

Mayfield will miss the Browns' game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, but the team will be forced to play their third string quarterback after his backup Case Keenum also landed on the COVID-19 list.

"Tell me if this makes sense…. No tests this morning… then let our team gather for practice… then show up after practice to test them," Mayfield continued in a third tweet. "Something seems off here."

The NFL is facing a challenging outbreak of coronavirus among players in the 15th week of the 2021 season. In addition to the players from the Browns on the COVID-19 list, the Chicago Bears had 10 players on the list, and the Washington Football Team had 20 players on the list.

There are about 75 players who've received positive coronavirus tests over the last two days compared to about 110 player positives in the entire three months of the season prior to the outbreak.

The Browns have a 7 and 6 record and are one game behind the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North conference.

Here's more about Mayfield's objections:

Browns QB Baker Mayfield calls out NFL COVID protocols | CBS Sports HQwww.youtube.com

New York will not force counties to comply with sweeping mask mandate, says governor



New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Monday said that the state government will not force counties to comply with the sweeping new mask mandate that went into effect today.

"We have left this to the counties to enforce. We hope that counties will enforce it," Hochul told reporters.

"We expect that they will, we hope that they will, it's in the best interest of public health. But it also comes down to individual businesses doing the right thing as well. We're asking businesses to protect their customers and to protect their employees," she added.

\u201cWe have left it to the counties to enforce, so counties can choose not to enforce. But we hope counties are enforcing,\u201d @GovKathyHochul says about the mask mandate
— Morgan Mckay (@Morgan Mckay) 1639415714

Beginning on Dec. 13 and lasting through at least Jan. 15, masks are required in all public indoor places in New York for everyone over the age of 2 unless full vaccination is mandated in those places. That means stores, restaurants, offices, residential building lobbies, and other indoor venues must either require people to be fully vaccinated to enter or force them to wear masks.

For now, individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the second shot of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or the first shot of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the definition of fully vaccinated will soon change to include booster shots, according to White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The mask mandate was announced by Hochul last week in response to rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state. State officials will re-examine coronavirus conditions on Jan. 15 to determine whether to extend or end the mandate.

Any businesses that violate any provision of the mandate are subject to civil and criminal penalties, including a maximum fine of $1,000 for each violation. Local health departments are being asked to enforce these requirements.

But some Republican county executives say they will not enforce the mandate. Rockland County Executive Ed Day (R) said Friday that the governor's office did not provide detailed information about the new masking requirements.

"I told the Governor’s staff that we cannot and will not enforce this requirement as it currently stands. How do you enforce something that’s based on a press release that does not contain adequate information and explanation?" Day said.

"I cannot and will not in good conscience redirect our Health Department to change their focus from the vaccination effort which entailed six clinics over the last two weeks that administered 141 vaccine doses and 1,244 booster doses. Especially with the 5–11-year-old cohort needing vaccinations and the 16–17-year-old cohort having just been approved to receive boosters," Day added. "That would be utterly reckless."

County officials in at least four other counties will not enforce the mandate either, including Livingston, Madison, Niagara, and Rensselaer counties.

“Governor Hochul derided the use of these types of measures just days ago,” David LeFeber, chairman of the Livingston County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement. “Now, we are back to Cuomo-era approaches. That is an unfortunate, and swift, switch of position by the Governor."

Nassau County Executive-elect Bruce Blakeman called the mandate a "shotgun approach."

"Over 97% of Nassau County adults have been vaccinated with at least their first dose and our outstanding health care facilities are not even close to capacity. While we continue to monitor this health care concern it is clear that Nassau County is not in crisis and State government should not paint us with the same broad brush as the rest of the State," Blakeman said. "I'm hopeful that the State will allow local determination rather than a shotgun approach."

Hochul defended the mandate as a "short-term, minor effort" to combat a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases, compared to the strict lockdowns that prevented New Yorkers from leaving their homes last year.

"I will never let that happen to this state, I will continue to encourage people to get vaccinated and get that booster shot and that is truly the best path forward," she said.

"This is a short-term measure to protect us during a change in circumstances, which is that the infections are going up. Hospitalizations are going up. ICU patients are going up. Bed capacity is going down. And the vaccinations, while they are good, they are not where they could be in terms of everyone from age 5-years-old and up and I want people to get boosters."

New York State has seen a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases since Thanksgiving, according to the New York Times. The daily case average on Sunday was 9,638 , a 66% increase over the last 14 days.

Hochul said that if the statewide infection rate were as low as it was during the summer when masking requirements were lifted, there would be no need for the new mandate.

"If we were still at that point, if people had gotten vaccinated and gotten the boosters and we were still at one percent, we would not be having this conversation."

Support for Biden's handling of the pandemic falls by 5% from the beginning of his term



Support among Americans for President Joe Biden's actions relating to the coronavirus pandemic has dropped by 5% according to a new poll on Friday.

The Hill-HarrisX poll found that 64% of registered voters supported the efforts by the Biden administration to stop the pandemic, a 5 point drop from the 69% support Biden had at the beginning of his term.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 12 and 15, while the earlier comparison poll was conducted between Jan. 21 and 24.

Biden fared better in general support among those registered voters. 59% said they approved of his overall job as president, whereas 60% said they approved a week ago.

While some may have soured on the administration's response to the coronavirus, the pandemic has significantly lessened in recent weeks. Just in the last two weeks coronavirus cases have fallen by 40%, and since January they have dropped by 70%.

Biden has faced some criticism for his administration's claims that the vaccine program they inherited from the former Trump administration was "non-existent." Some journalists and even his own coronavirus task force chief Dr. Anthony Fauci contradicted the claim but they have persisted in repeating the debunked accusation.

In another embarrassing episode for the Biden administration, the president snapped at a reporter when he pointed out that their not-so-ambitious goal for vaccinations was likely to be met by the rate of vaccinations achieved by the Trump administration.

"When I announced it, you all said it was not possible. C'mon, give me a break man!" said Biden before stomping away.

Despite the relatively large drop in approval from Americans for Biden's pandemic response, the Hill-HarrisX pollsters noted that even the lower metric was higher than support for Trump's coronavirus response at any time of his presidency.

Here's the latest on the pandemic:

COVID-19 Cases Drop Amid New Concerns About Variant Strains | TODAYwww.youtube.com

www.forbes.com

Dow falls 150 points after Senate Republicans unveil coronavirus relief bill

Stocks were under pressure amid debate over the latest coronavirus aid proposal.