"The Pandemic Is Over"

[emtee]

Our President has made the declaration.

May I please take off my mask at work now, sir?

Seriously though, it's good to hear those words regardless if accurate or not. It's been one hell of a long and tumultuous time for all of us. Turn the page please!

Also noted to my wife how happy I am to see sports stadiums filled again and people eating out and shopping.

[Adami]

Y’all do you. No judgement. For now, I’m still wearing my mask indoors, especially mass transit and super crowded places. I’m sure over time I’ll change it up.

[Dublagent66]

No, it isn't.

[ich bin besser]

No, it isn't.

This.

[Samsara]

For now, I’m still wearing my mask indoors, especially mass transit and super crowded places. I’m sure over time I’ll change it up.

This is me. I don't wear a mask generally, except for indoor events like concerts, and absolutely overly crowded places. I don't take mass transit often, but I would wear one then. Southwest lifted the mask mandate, but I don't see myself ever not wearing a mask on a plane again. Contrary to the political fights over it, masks do HELP you from catching various things and as someone who is susceptible to stuff pretty easily, the mask will be a staple moving forward.

[XJDenton]

Same energy.

[Anguyen92]

I still wear a mask when it comes to church gatherings or picking up take-out or riding in an airplane.  If people around me have issues with it, that's a them problem, not a me problem.  As for concerts, unless its a band or artist that has big singalongs, I rather keep the mask on. 

I mean it's a telling sign where even in California, they dropped the vaccine card and mask mandate in concerts/sporting events, but people still wear them and that shouldn't be an issue at all.

[Skeever]

The only time I've worn a mask indoors in the last year or so is at a doctor's office.

[lonestar]

I still wear a mask when it comes to church gatherings or picking up take-out or riding in an airplane.  If people around me have issues with it, that's a them problem, not a me problem.  As for concerts, unless its a band or artist that has big singalongs, I rather keep the mask on. 

I mean it's a telling sign where even in California, they dropped the vaccine card and mask mandate in concerts/sporting events, but people still wear them and that shouldn't be an issue at all.

I'd have no problem with seasonal mask usage becoming a thing like it is in Asian countries to control the cold/flu season.

[emtee]

Same energy.

Haha! Classic.

[emtee]

Any concern that making masks a more permanent, seasonal protocol will actually negatively impact our immune system(s) over long periods of time?

Total respect for everyone's personal decision on wearing vs not wearing. I'm double vaxxed and double boosted and I'm willing to roll the dice from here forward...barring an unforseen exponential rise in deadly cases. I'm mandated to still wear at work.

[Adami]

Any concern that making masks a more permanent, seasonal protocol will actually negatively impact our immune system(s) over long periods of time?

Total respect for everyone's personal decision on wearing vs not wearing. I'm double vaxxed and double boosted and I'm willing to roll the dice from here forward...barring an unforseen exponential rise in deadly cases. I'm mandated to still wear at work.

Negatively impact? I guess that depends. It will lower the amount of people getting colds/flues/etc. and thus building their natural immunity. But I can't see it making a huge impact.

[King Postwhore]

I think this title is a Van Halen song.

[Ben_Jamin]

Of course the virus will never completely be abolished...like all sickness never are.

But, as an emergency pandemic, there has to be a time when it ends. We as humans have many survival instincts and can withstand a lot. Us still being here, alive, speaks to how we humans can survive.

There's also a lot of things that can kill us, and this weather of floods, fires, hurricane, and other things people are dealing with continues on.

Life does not and should not stop. We humans as a species need to address what really is beneficial for us. There are also things we humans are doing to the planet that is causing us to basically poison ourselves. These things are things we should be focusing on now or else these diseases and health pandemics will continue to gradually get way, way, worse.

Some of these things humans have done to poison the land and water are what made some humans susceptible to dying from Covid.

[Stadler]

Same energy.

My work here is done. 

[TAC]

I'm mandated to still wear at work.

What kind of business is it?

[emtee]

I'm mandated to still wear at work.

What kind of business is it?

Hospital 😀

[TAC]

I'm mandated to still wear at work.

What kind of business is it?

Hospital 😀

Forget it. That thing is never coming off.

[XJDenton]

I'm keeping an eye on numbers and will wear masks more regularly if I see a spike in cases. Also still wear them on planes and trains or places with poor ventilation.

[Adami]

Yea honestly no matter how much better things get, I think a mask on the New York City trains is just a smart idea at this point. 

[XJDenton]

A physicist I follow on Twitter got in the habit of taking a CO/CO2 meter with her on travels as a proxy for air quality/ventilation. Needless to say, most subways were not great.

[King Postwhore]

Yea honestly no matter how much better things get, I think a mask on the New York City trains is just a smart idea at this point. 

Wore a mask on the T in Boston Wednesday, heading to the Porcupine Tree concert.

[TAC]

Yea honestly no matter how much better things get, I think a mask on the New York City trains is just a smart idea at this point. 

Wore a mask on the T in Boston Wednesday, heading to the Porcupine Tree concert.

How was the new venue? It looks awesome!

[King Postwhore]

A physicist I follow on Twitter got in the habit of taking a CO/CO2 meter with her on travels as a proxy for air quality/ventilation. Needless to say, most subways were not great.

You'd figure 2 years of mask and no bad breath in the air the the quality would improve. Lol

[XJDenton]

No amount of masks is going to fix tunnels and ventilation that are over a century old.

[wolfking]

And people with poor dental hygiene I guess.

[King Postwhore]

I have a friend who goes to companies and runs tests and reports the affects companies are having to the local ecosystem.   He also Storm Chases for 3 weeks a year.

[lordxizor]

The pandemic has been over from a practical sence for many months. Historically pandemics haven't ended when cases stop or the illness is eradicated.  It ends when people basically decides it ends and get back to life as normal. Apart from some die hards, most people have been 95% back to normal for close to a year.

[TAC]

And people with poor dental hygiene I guess.

 

No amount of masks is going to fix tunnels and ventilation that are over a century old.

But they have always been that way and people didn't wear masks. Is it just now because they are afraid of Covid? And when does it end? Is Covid an epiphany that people should've been wearing masks the whole time??

[Adami]

Not sure it'll end or why it needs to. If people (like me) feel like wearing masks in certain places, I don't see an issue.

[TAC]

Not sure it'll end or why it needs to. If people (like me) feel like wearing masks in certain places, I don't see an issue.

I don't see an issue either. But what would it take to not wear one?

[Adami]

Not sure it'll end or why it needs to. If people (like me) feel like wearing masks in certain places, I don't see an issue.

I don't see an issue either. But what would it take to not wear one?

I guess it depends. For me, and me only, I'll probably phase out mask wearing in most places naturally as long as COVID doesn't get much worse of there's not some other crazy thing. But for the trains and so forth? It might become more seasonal, but I guess it would take the subway not being filled with gross people who have NO qualms about bringing whatever diseases they may have on there and coughing on you.

Edit: And since it's what the mask was made for, I'll also probably wear one if I'm not feeling well and need to go out for something.

[TAC]

, but I guess it would take the subway not being filled with gross people

Brother, you and I will never see this day.

[MirrorMask]

Count me in among those who'd like to see, during the flu months (October to February say), a mandatory use of masks on public transports.

Did we need a serious pandemic to understand that it's not ideal to have people sneezing on each other while crammed inside a tiny place? apparently yes, after all we needed the Titanic to sink to realize that if you have X passengers on board, you need space on lifeboats for X people.

[cramx3]

The pandemic has been over from a practical sence for many months. Historically pandemics haven't ended when cases stop or the illness is eradicated.  It ends when people basically decides it ends and get back to life as normal. Apart from some die hards, most people have been 95% back to normal for close to a year.

This.  In my mind, the pandemic ended after the January omicron spike.  Since then, hospitals have not (generally, as it's localized) been full and people just aren't dropping like flies from infections.  Covid isn't going away, but our reaction to it generally has.

And I will add that I have no desire to put a mask back on unless it's mandated.  You are free to wear one if you want, but I don't really like wearing it so that's my choice unless things change.