The Left doesn't want to return to normal: Murray
Author Douglas Murray comments on the media's panic over new CDC quarantine guidance.
Douglas Murray criticized the left's hypochondria after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced its recommendation on the isolation period for positive asymptomatic COVID-19 cases on "Fox News Primetime" Wednesday.
The original recommendation was a 10-day isolation period for asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the decision to change it to five days was driven by "human behavior" as people need to get back to work.
Murray criticized the left for having a "lack of ability to weigh up and balance reasonably issues to do with the virus and the threat."
"Why is it only now that we're having this discussion of the reasonable balance, the balance of the virus and business?" he asked.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, and Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci. (J. Scott Applewhite/Pool via REUTERS)
"Business has to be a priority in America. The education of young people has to be a priority in America," Murray said. "The omicron variant cannot be the single priority. It never should have been. And the fact that we've only just got here now is an absolute disgrace."
"There was a surprising negative reaction … to what should be received as welcome news," host Ben Domenech said about the left-wing media's reaction to the change.
A syringe is pictured on an illustration representation of the coronavirus. (JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images)
Murray was surprised that "there are people who are seriously disappointed at the CDC new guidance" and "any normal, rational, reasonable person should be delighted" instead, he said.
The recommendation was consistent with what is known about the omicron variant, "which is that it is the weakest and least significant variant of this so far, with the least number of hospitalizations, the least number of deaths connected to it," he added.
Nurse prepares a dose of a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Lurie Children's Hospital. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
As for the reason the left seemed averse to the change in isolation, Murray said he believes it is entirely political.
"These people …. they don't want to ever go back to normal," he said. "They don't want to return to the pre-COVID world. They love the COVID world. It allows them to control everything and everyone and to focus on this one issue to the destruction of everything else, including the economy."
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.