COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths have been on the rise over the past few months. In response, there have been several incidences of private companies, health care systems and a few schools that have brought masking requirements back. 

A group of Republicans on Capitol Hill say that is a step in the wrong direction.

Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, is among a handful of GOP lawmakers in the upper chamber behind what they call the "Freedom to Breathe Act," introduced this week but blocked by a Democratic senator Thursday. The legislation would prohibit any federal official, including the president, from issuing mask mandates applying to domestic air travel, public transit systems, or primary, secondary and post-secondary schools. 

“Today, I want to ensure that we do not subject the American people to this tyranny again for the sake of nothing,” Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said on the Senate floor Thursday.

“We cannot repeat the anxiety, the stress and the nonstop panic of the last couple of years," he said. "That’s what this legislation is about. End the mandates, end the panic and let’s get back to some common sense.”

One of the bill’s co-sponsors, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., helped successfully fight against federal vaccine mandates while serving as his state’s attorney general. He said a preemptive strike against a return to federal mask mandates is “the right course.”

“My point of view on this is let individuals make their own decisions, make their own informed decisions on how they want to handle this,” Schmitt told Spectrum News. “These federal mandates are ridiculous.”

Vance requested unanimous consent, a procedure to expedite proceedings, but Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., objected.

“Republicans have to understand that we have to provide the options for our health care heroes to save lives,” Markey said. “They will make us less safe because they will be tying the hands of health care professionals.”

While Republicans argue the bill is about protecting freedom, Markey argued freedom is Americans knowing they can safely go to school or work or travel because officials have taken steps to protect them from getting sick.

Vance’s office said Democrats “sent a clear signal to the nation that they support the return of mask mandates.” Markey called the bill “a red herring.”

There's little evidence any federal mask mandates are close to being imposed. At this time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is promoting a COVID vaccination campaign and advising people to get tested when appropriate and to stay home when you're sick.

In an interview with CNN this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stressed that, although COVID cases are on the rise, there is still “a very low level of infection.” He predicted cases will continue to increase into the fall. 

“I'm not talking about mandating anything,” Fauci said. “I'm talking about good common sense and following the recommendations that we likely will get from the CDC as we proceed into the fall and if the case is increasing their number.”

COVID-19 hospital admissions nearly tripled from late June to late August, according to CDC data.

In addition to the smattering of mask requirements across the country, the University of Maryland, College Park has instituted a new policy requiring students living on campus to isolate themselves off campus.

“My friend, he tested positive yesterday,” said student Luke O’Neil. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m going home.’ I just thought he was doing it to be safe, but I guess he had to.”

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a presidential candidate, vowed Thursday that his state won’t be joining states, cities or school districts across the U.S. in temporarily closing schools or mandating mask-wearing and that it would stand up to any federal mask mandates in the future. 

“People are lurching toward this insanity again,” DeSantis said. “As we see these things being orchestrated … there needs to be pushback.”