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Emboldened by the government’s recent lifting of the public health emergency, Americans who have tried to be rule-following pandemic citizens for the past three summers are at last abandoning precautions as the coronavirus fades into a background threat.
Officials are no longer warning of scary new variants. Free tests are harder to come by. The White House covid team has disbanded, and the virus is increasingly erased from public conversation. After 2020’s summer of isolation followed by 2021’s “hot vax” summer and last year’s summer of revenge travel, this summer, the fourth since covid arrived, marks a season of blissful ignorance — or begrudging acceptance that the rest of society is moving on.
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I’m not masking any more. I do eat in restaurants. I avoid really crowded situations (but then I never liked them anyway). People are hugging and shaking hands again.
For those who are still suffering symptoms (and still coming down with COVID) it’s not over. For those who lost loved ones, it will never really be over.
Back to normal for all intents and purposes. My wife wore a mask to the airport for a flight the other week but that’s the closest we’ve come to precaution in the past 6-9 months or more. We are up to date on boosters.
Just yesterday I said to my wife that COVID is beginning to feel like a distant memory, one that at this point we can hardly believe we went through and wondered at the time if we would ever truly escape.
We are pretty much back to normal. We still avoid crowds, but we did that even before the pandemic as my wife hates crowds. We ate at Red Lobster a month or two ago, the first time we’d dined out since COVID broke (other than take-out.) We’re staying updated on boosters. I’m somewhat hesitant about handshaking, but my doctor shook my hand during my last visit, and he’s the guy who did my cancer surgery at a major medical facility, which no longer requires masks, so that set my mind somewhat at ease.
One COVID remnant remains, however. We still carry and use hand sanitizer regularly, especially after shopping, and wipe shopping carts when entering a store.
Probably as close as I’m going to get, in my overall health condition.
I’ve stopped masking inside uncrowded public places in areas of low transmission rates. I check the transmission rate once in a while – maybe weekly or so – and if it goes back up I might start again.
I occasionally hug a friend who I know well enough to know they’d tell me if they weren’t feeling well.
I’m still masking at planning board meetings, which are several hours together in the same enclosed room, in which I’m dubious about the quality of ventilation; and which while often not crowded sometimes is, and in which you never can tell whether somebody might start shouting in your face.
I’m still avoiding eating indoors in restaurants, airline travel, and crowded venues; but I’ve got other reasons for avoiding the latter two anyway and can’t really afford any of them.
I still keep a good mask in the car and in the work van, in case something comes up.
Biggest difference for me is how working in a different location than your colleagues has been recognised as viable (for office work).
Two of the three people I work closest with joined since the start of covid and are based i another city so even if I am in the office communication with them is remote while being physically present with other members of the team is good to do some of the time the result is I go in to the office 2-3 times a week, less distractions, saving on the cost of commuting is great.
If I go down with a cold there is no need to go in to the office and spread it around I can just work from home.
That’s true. I know a lot of the big corps are trying to get everyone back in the offices (in part because the tax breaks those corp offices got are dependent on people occupying them) but, fortunately, my company’s local office is a converted farmhouse and it’s rare that more than one person is in there at a time.
I’m not bothering with tests. A few months ago I didn’t feel well, not sure if it was flu or covid but give whichever it was I would rest, self isolate, and keep hydrated I didn’t need to find out which it was.
We’re not masking anywhere now except if we fly. But then we avoid crowds and don’t go to movies, church, bars, or music venues. When we dine indoors, we always do it early before the main lunch rush.
I’m trying to keep abreast of statistics about spikes in transmission, but I confess I haven’t checked in a few weeks, being preoccupied with retirement paperwork. As soon as I post this, I’ll go look. But our county’s health department has always been on top of getting the news out if there’s a spike.
Pretty much back to “time before” in terms of ordinary things. I do keep masks and sanitizer around (N95 came in handy for the Great East Coast Smoke the other week). When the next edition of the shot is released I will be getting that.
Still wear a mask. Was at a theatrical performance last night and saw it masked. Wear masks to grocery stores, etc. If it reduces the likelihood of me getting COVID it’s worth it.