Page 2 - aruba-today-20220421

A2 UP FRONT
Thursday 21 april 2022
Continued from Front want to.
The Transportation Security "We all have our beliefs and
Administration stopped en- obviously different views,"
forcing the mask require- said Lee, who is unvacci-
ment, and the Justice De- nated.
partment announced on "Mine are definitely differ-
Tuesday that it will not ap- ent from the people who
peal the ruling unless the are angry and upset."
Centers for Disease Control Employed people are di-
and Prevention determines vided on whether those
it's still necessary. The CDC working in person at their
said Wednesday that it own workplaces should be
continues to recommend required to wear masks.
that people wear masks in Thirty-four percent say
all indoor public transpor- they're in favor of that re-
tation settings and was as- quirement, 33% are op-
sessing the need for a mask posed and 33% are nei-
requirement in those set- ther in favor nor opposed.
tings. Among workers who are
The poll shows a wide par- Democrats, 48% are in fa-
tisan divide on the issue. vor and 18% are opposed.
Among Democrats, 80% Among workers who are
favor and just 5% oppose Mass transit riders wear masks as they commute in the financial district of lower Manhattan, Tues- Republicans, 53% are op-
the requirement. Among day, April 19, 2022, in New York. posed and 18% are in favor.
Republicans, 45% are op- Associated Press Mike Osterholm, director
posed compared with 33% of the University of Minne-
in favor, with 22% saying But Kriste Lee, who works in Count Betty Harp, of Leitch- The latest poll also shows sota's Center for Infectious
neither. sales in South Florida, can't field, Kentucky, as among about half the people favor Disease Research and Pol-
Vicki Pettus, who recently wait to fly mask-free the the "very worried" and not requiring masks for workers icy, said messaging over
moved from Frankfort, Ken- next time she travels next because she's turning 84 who interact with the pub- the mask mandate would
tucky, to Clearwater, Flori- month. next month. She said she lic, compared with about have been more effective
da, to be near her grand- "I really wish I was on a takes care of her large 3 in 10 opposed. Support is if it required N95 or KN95
children, said she enjoys plane when they made house and yard by herself, similar for requiring people respirators, which are more
the view of Old Tampa Bay that announcement," said does a lot of canning and at crowded public events effective at preventing
but doesn't like the "very Lee, 47. "I would have been is in "fantastic health for my such as concerts, sporting transmission of the virus.
lackadaisical attitude" by dancing up and down the age." But she's lost a lot of events and movies to wear "But you have actually cre-
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Re- aisle." friends and family to the vi- masks. ated a real challenge with
publican, about masking. The continued public sup- rus, which has killed nearly On these, too, there are yourself with the public who
She said she will continue port overall for mandat- 1 million people in the Unit- significant partisan divides. are now being selective if
to wear her mask to protect ing masks on transporta- ed States. Seventy-two percent of not outright angry about
against the coronavirus, in- tion comes even as wor- "I know COVID is still here. Democrats favor requiring these mandates," said Os-
cluding around her 55-and- ries about COVID-19 are It's still around," said Harp, people attending crowd- terholm, who added that
older home community among their lowest points who described herself as a ed public events to wear he will continue to wear his
and on the plane when she of the past two years. Just Republican-leaning inde- masks, while among Re- N95 mask on planes.
travels to Kentucky in a few 20% now say they're very or pendent. "I think we should publicans, 25% are in fa- ___
weeks. extremely worried that they all be wearing masks for a vor and 49% are opposed. The AP-NORC poll of 1,085
"Especially in a plane where or a family member will be little while longer." The numbers are similar for adults was conducted
that air is recirculating," infected. That's down slight- In another AP-NORC poll requiring masks for public- April 14-18 using a sample
said Pettus, 71, an indepen- ly since 25% said the same conducted last month, 44% facing workers. drawn from NORC's prob-
dent who leans toward the just a month ago and from of those surveyed still said Lee, who said she doesn't ability-based AmeriSpeak
Democratic Party. "I think 36% in December and Jan- they were often or always "do politics," wondered Panel, which is designed
people are really dumb uary as the omicron variant wearing face masks out- aloud why people are to be representative of the
not to wear their mask. But, was raging. Another 33% side their homes, though complaining about the U.S. population. The margin
hey, that's their decision, now say they are some- that was down significantly judge's ruling and said no- of sampling error for all re-
and if they want to get sick what worried, while 48% say from 65% who said that at body is stopping anyone spondents is plus or minus
that's fine. I'm not going to." they're not worried at all. the beginning of the year. from wearing masks if they 3.9 percentage points.q

Cryptocurrency firms in latest Russian

sanctions targets

WASHINGTON (AP) — The sanctions arm designated cial transactions. Treasury
U.S. rolled out new sanctions the commercial bank Tran- also targeted people and
on Wednesday against skapitalbank, which has companies led by U.S.-des-
more than 40 individuals operations in China and ignated Russian oligarch
and entities accused of the Middle East. Transkap- Konstantin Malofeyev —
evading the ongoing wave italbank is a Russian private- the founder of a Russian Or-
of penalties imposed on ly owned commercial bank thodox news channel, Tsar-
Russia as punishment for in- which the U.S. says has grad TV. Malofeyev was
vading Ukraine. helped sanctioned clients also designated for sanc-
The sanctions include the process dollar payments, tions in December 2014.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen listens during a House Commit- first set of penalties against by providing an alternative Treasury said he was one of
tee on Financial Services hearing, Wednesday, April 6, 2022, on cryptocurrency mining communication channel the main sources of financ-
Capitol Hill in Washington. firms in relation to the war. to SWIFT — the dominant ing for Russians promoting
Associated Press The Treasury Department's system for global finan- separatism in Crimea.q