When Left and COVID Mix Be Very Afraid

For two years we were told to follow the science on COVID-19. Now the science and even our government overlords say the worst is over — and many New Yorkers refuse to believe it.

A month after the Big Apple reopened, many still live the mantra, “Be afraid, be very afraid.” Yet cold, comforting statistics say we should be done with this.

In a city of 8.85 million people, just nine patients per day are dying from COVID-19 complications, down 96% from a peak in January (228 per day). Our daily case rate is down 95% from January, and daily hospitalizations are down 84% to just 1.5 admissions per 100,000 people.

The fear lingers no less. The other day on a stroll past a woke bakery near my home in Brooklyn, the wonderful fragrances of warm baguettes and brioche wafting out the open door lured me inside — and instantly yielded to an air of noblesse oblige.

All six folks in line were masked, so were the three servers behind the counter. Feeling awkward — mask shame? — I left and went to a Key Food, where masks abounded as if nothing had changed at all.

Oddly, this is more about political ideology than health. New York is one of the most liberal cities in the world, and the more liberal that people are, the more fearful they are of COVID.

A new survey shows 48% of “very liberal” people believe COVID presents a “great risk” to their health, compared with 27% among moderates and 11% among conservatives. More than 60% of ultra-libs believe mask mandates “should continue for the foreseeable future,” while most moderates and conservatives say they should end this year.

“The key dividing line appears to be ideology. Americans who identify as ‘very liberal’ are much more worried about COVID than Americans who identify as ‘somewhat liberal’ or ‘liberal. Increasingly, the very liberal look like outliers on COVID …”

Sounds like Fox News, but this appeared in the very liberal New York Times. “Donald Trump certainly plays a role,” the paper concludes. Of course, as in everything.

Nationwide, the popular vote was 51.3% for Joe Biden vs. 46.9% for President Trump. NYC voted 75% to 22% for Biden over Trump; in Manhattan, Trump got only 11% of the vote.

This can make spirited debate a fragile pursuit in New York. In March, at a couples dinner at a fine Italian spot in Manhattan, I got into an argument over vaccination mandates and fled the scene, as I noted.

Then last week, I got into a flap over mask mandates with my hair cutter. We have seen each other every month or two for almost 20 years — twice as long as my first marriage lasted.

When I started as a cable-news anchor in 2007, she changed my look from a forelock swoop to a spiky tossle that fit my personality better.

The other day, I walk in to her shop hoping to avoid 45 minutes of a masked haircut, but nope: masks still required. We start debating this, she tells me mask or no haircut, I cite a bunch of stats, she gives up in frustration — and then I surrender sheepishly and start to sit down, our masks still in place.

Our truce is shattered when a short, squat lady rises from her chair, wags a forefinger at me and tells me off, then huffs out into the hallway and waits. Rattled, I retreat and tell her acidly, “Have a lovely day,” and instantly feel shame: so passive-aggressive of me.

She responds in the universal language of New York: “F*** you!”

After leaving, I realized the error was mine. Facts and stats fail to trump fear and feelings, and liberals can’t handle the truth, even if Jack Nicholson is one of them.

After fleeing, I texted my stylist and apologized, promising to bow to her mask mandate henceforth. Six hours later, she responded: “I do appreciate the apology, although it’s probably best to find a salon that aligns with your stance on masks, which is obviously very strong.”

I cannot believe it — she canceled me!