Can we talk about unmasking?

[mommyoffive]

AHHHHH is all I can say.  

Unmasking in the places we go has started.   It leaves me feeling stressed.  Of course, I want to not wear a mask like 2019 style, but I am second guessing it too.  So how are you doing this?  Are you doing this?  When are you doing this?  Are you masking inside still?  Outside at all?  I swear I am so overly tired of trying to make the decisions on what to do all the time with Covid risks.

[Carrie12345]

I mask.
Exceeeeppt… the other day, dh and I ran into the store real quick and realized we only had 1 mask between the two of us. (We took his car. MINE is, of course, always stocked with extras.). It seemed silly for just one of us to wear one.
I hated every second of it.  And I hated wondering what the 1/3 of the people in the store thought of me.
Tonight, ds and I wore masks in the same store.

I don’t feel a need to wear a mask outside.
But I also don’t get close to people.

[Katy]

We still have a medically fragile little one too small to be vaccinated, so we mask with n95’s. If everyone in your family is vaxxed & boosted you might catch it but it should be very mild. If you’re in a low transmission area I personally would relax outside but still socially distance. I might wear more comfortable cloth masks inside, but not n95’s. 

[Terabith]

4 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

AHHHHH is all I can say.  

Unmasking in the places we go has started.   It leaves me feeling stressed.  Of course, I want to not wear a mask like 2019 style, but I am second guessing it too.  So how are you doing this?  Are you doing this?  When are you doing this?  Are you masking inside still?  Outside at all?  I swear I am so overly tired of trying to make the decisions on what to do all the time with Covid risks.

I've rarely masked outside, but in our area, I've rarely been outside in close proximity to people outside my household.  A few exceptions, like an outdoor choir concert, I masked at.  

I'm still masking indoors, but there have been a couple times in the last month or so we've been at a restaurant and the weather was not great for eating outdoors and there were very few people, that we've eaten indoors.  

My youngest said she took her mask off at school for the first time that wasn't at lunch today.  The building is very, very warm, and she was in choir and feeling faint, so she took her mask off for a few minutes to cool down.  

Masking in stores is easy, and honestly, I might just continue doing that forever.  

[I talk to the trees]

I am still masking and will continue to do so until I see the hospitalized/ ICU numbers go way, way down. I’m vaxed and boosted, but I do have asthma, and in the (hopefully) unlikely event that I had to be hospitalized, I’d prefer to be tended to by medical staff who aren’t exhausted, overworked, and burnt out! So the longer I can put off being infected, the better. If anyone has a problem with my mask, they can go play in the traffic! 

[kbutton]

11 minutes ago, Katy said:

If you’re in a low transmission area I personally would relax outside but still socially distance. 

My feeling too.

We are still masking everywhere. Masking was never at high rates except when mandated (and then still at maybe 80% or so?), and mandated has not been the case since June 2021. 

The bigger issue we have is that I think people are tired of us not wanting to get together without masks. We don't plan to eat with people except outside for a long time unless they are being crazy careful the rest of time (at least as careful as we are). That's pretty much just considered intolerant, I think. 

We are still going for not getting it or at least putting it off as long as possible. 

[catz]

Our mandate just lifted in our city.  But many/most are still masking in retail stores, etc.  Our case load is now under 10 per 100K/day and our positivity is under 4%.  Hospital loads are SO much lower.   So I am feeling fine about running errands, especially masked.

But just yesterday we realized I could drive to a neighboring state to see my college student perform twice this week before he goes on a school related trip over spring break and I am super nervous about it.  He is performing on campus one night and that will be masked, 95%+ of campus is vaccinated.  The other night one of his performing groups is going to be at a rural high school with no mask mandate though and I am a nervous about that event!  

None of the 3 of us at home have had it, huge fan of NOT getting it.  My college student did test positive though a few weeks ago.  It was really nothing for him, he had a worse cold in the fall.  He is vaxxed/boosted.  His case was only caught because his university and in particular his touring performance group has been extremely aggressive with testing.  

ETA - I have never masked regularly outside and I walk outside daily.  I rarely get within 20 feet of anyone even through a nearby college campus.  Only a couple times at like an outdoor performance or something have I felt the need to mask outdoors.  

Edited March 9, 2022 by catz

[KSera]

We'll be continuing with masks inside for the forseeable future. My bigger change right now is starting to go back in stores in person again (with an N95). During every surge, we have stopped going to stores or anywhere else inside, so we've been in that mode since late November when Omicron started. We still have one kid not vaccinated. We plan to do all we can to prevent covid before everyone in the family is vaccinated, and as long as we reasonably can after that. I still don't trust the long term implications (for some good reasons, considering long covid). If our case numbers at some point drop incredibly low after the youngest is vaccinated, maybe masking will change. That would be really nice. I would love, love to gather with friends or family indoors without masks.

[EKS]

I will continue to wear an N95 strapped to my head.  I honestly don't see what the problem is with continuing to mask indefinitely.

[mommyoffive]

Masking outside.  I have thought about having my kids drop their masks outside at their actives.  But you know kids they don't distance.  I feel like I just got comfortable doing that in the fall. 

[mommyoffive]

2 minutes ago, catz said:

Our mandate just lifted in our city.  But many/most are still masking in retail stores, etc.  Our case load is now under 10 per 100K/day and our positivity is under 4%.  Hospital loads are SO much lower.   So I am feeling fine about running errands, especially masked.

But just yesterday we realized I could drive to a neighboring state to see my college student perform twice this week before he goes on a school related trip over spring break and I am super nervous about it.  He is performing on campus one night and that will be masked, 95%+ of campus is vaccinated.  The other night one of his performing groups is going to be at a rural high school with no mask mandate though and I am a nervous about that event!  

None of the 3 of us at home have had it, huge fan of NOT getting it.  My college student did test positive though a few weeks ago.  It was really nothing for him, he had a worse cold in the fall.  He is vaxxed/boosted.  His case was only caught because his university and in particular his touring performance group has been extremely aggressive with testing.  

We just got tickets to shows odd's birthday. I am so nervous about it.  You have to be masked and vaxxed and yet I am still nervous.  I wasn't comfortable with those measures in December and didn't even watch my kids in Nutcracker.  I am currently trying not to think about it. 

[catz]

Just now, mommyoffive said:

We just got tickets to shows odd's birthday. I am so nervous about it.  You have to be masked and vaxxed and yet I am still nervous.  I wasn't comfortable with those measures in December and didn't even watch my kids in Nutcracker.  I am currently trying not to think about it. 

You know what, my daughter and I had season tickets for traveling broadway before covid and ALL those shows were cancelled. Well they came back this fall.  We have been at vaxxed/masked huge shows 5 times since then and at a number of local theaters too seeing local performers.  I'm grateful for the requirements.  

Anyway, they've all been TOTALLY fine and we haven't heard any of our other theater freinds having any issue either after attending these types of events.  Even the one we went to as omicron was peaking in mid January and I was silently freaking out.  We saw Come from Away though and oh my gosh, that was an amazing show with all the feels.  The ushers have been GREAT with mask enforcement too, they aren't playing.  I love it!  

There is NO WAY on earth I would have bought these tickets post covid but we had paid for all of them, my teen daughter LOVES this stuff so much, it's been a huge bonding thing for us.  And now I am so grateful for their mandates and enforcement and ability to do these things during a really tough time when we've been pretty isolated.  ❤️  So have a great time, these mandates at these events really ARE working!

[catz]

11 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

 

Edited March 9, 2022 by catz

[mommyoffive]

1 minute ago, catz said:

You know what, my daughter and I had season tickets for traveling broadway before covid and ALL those shows were cancelled. Well they came back this fall.  We have been at vaxxed/masked huge shows 5 times since then and at a number of local theaters too seeing local performers.  I'm grateful for the requirements.  

Anyway, they've all been TOTALLY fine and we haven't heard any of our other theater freinds having any issue either after attending these types of events.  Even the one we went to as omicron was peaking in mid January and I was silently freaking out.  We saw Come from Away though and oh my gosh, that was an amazing show with all the feels.  The ushers have been GREAT with mask enforcement too, they aren't playing.  I love it!  

There is NO WAY on earth I would have bought these tickets post covid but we had paid for all of them, my teen daughter LOVES this stuff so much, it's been a huge bonding thing for us.  And now I am so grateful for their mandates and enforcement and ability to do these things during a really tough time when we've been pretty isolated.  ❤️  So have a great time, these mandates at these events really ARE working!

Thanks!  We were on the other side of the fence in Dec.   All my kids were in a Nutcracker with a professional ballet. They tried and had all the rules, you had to be vaxxed, masked at all the rehearsals, and on and on.  However they decided to have the dancers be unmasked in the shows.  The pros went down one by one.  Kids started going down.  Shows had to be cancelled.  Maybe if they would have kept on masks for the shows it would have worked.  

[Dianthus]

I kind of like masking because I was already a germaphobe and masking helps me avoid people when I don't feel like talking. 

However, I have seen my 10 yr old opting for a mask in situations where it's not needed, like an outdoors activity, because he wants to hide from people. While I admitted above that I use the mask to avoid people, I don't like to see him hiding from social interactions, when he's already been isolated for 2 years. He needs interaction. So we are working our way down. We still masked at the grocery store and library today, but not when we ran into Subway to order and pickup. We also are aware of others, and when others are masking (like all the librarians), I am uncomfortable being mask free.

I'm sort of worried about the normal viruses circulating and don't want them either, but we are normally (precovid) conscientious handwashers and sanitizers. I'm done being worried. 5/6 are vaccinated. And we actually had one person test positive, extremely mild case (5 hrs of fever) and no one else in the house got it. I'm not worried at this point.

So, yes to masking in crowded settings and shopping, but weaning ourselves off.

ETA: 5/6 are vaccinated. The only one who isn't is 1 yr old. The one who tested positive is 7, and that was in January. If we didn't get it in the same household with him biting his fingernails and touching everything, I'm not worried about covid. Massive vomiting from GI bug, sinus infection from cold, not interested in those. But I'm not worried about covid. So taking sort of the precautions when you have a toddler and don't want to deal with sick kids.

Edited March 9, 2022 by Spirea

[Shelydon]

I haven't masked much this year. ( I live in a no mask state) I masked in August/September when cases were high, then again in Dec and January.  Otherwise, no mask.  I am assuming that my vaccines and boosters will work well enough.  If I were to fly, go to a conference or something with thousands of people, I would mask.   Numbers are really low right now,

[mommyoffive]

1 minute ago, catz said:

Wait are you in Wisconsin?  That's where my kid attends college.  I know the county he is in is doing a fantastic job, their numbers look great I just checked earlier today.

Yep, but not seeing the shows in Wisconsin.  

[Dmmetler]

I will be masking in stores, etc indefinitely. I am leaving masks required (recommended, with a pretty please with sugar on top) for the remainder of this semester, but will reevaluate for summer. I may let the kids unmask while on stage performing for the recital if our positivity is still below 1%, like it is now. 

[happi duck]

We are continuing to mask inside and outdoors if in a crowd.

I work with kids age three and up and am requiring masks since vaccines aren't available to everyone yet.

Friends with young kids in school have had kids get sick with other things seemingly because their immune systems haven't had to be fighting off anything.  (Sort of like how first year teachers catch everything.) Might be good to taper off instead of stopping masking completely.

Edited March 9, 2022 by happi duck

[AnotherNewName]

Unmasking now.  Vaxx'd and boosted and we simply see no need for it any longer.  

[sangtarah]

I am still masking. However, dh, my parents, my grandma, and one dd are done with them. The adults don’t see the point since most of us are vaxed (my 4yo has one more month!), the one kid has sensory issues and anxiety that make keeping a mask on hard. My MIL hasn’t worn a mask since fall, and my unvaxed SIL lives with her. So I guess I’m an outlier in my immediate crowd. Our rates are much lower, but it makes me nervous. 

[chocolate-chip chooky]

We will be masking indoors and outdoors indefinitely. It's become just like putting on shoes; just part of getting dressed. 

Our only exception is if our performer daughter has a show that really needs facial expressions. This happened a couple of weeks ago. She was unmasked on an outdoor stage. She then isolated at home for two weeks. And because I'm the one who drives her around, I've been masked at home.

We have a high risk family member, and this felt like the best way to manage it. It worked fine.

I realise we're right at the pointy end of cautious though.

[melmichigan]

We can’t change much with my immune status. I just replaced many of our masks. As it warms I don’t see the need for masking outdoors provided the positivity rates get and stay low, similar to last year when cases were low.

[bookbard]

I met a contractor at work today who snapped, 'I can't talk to you with you wearing that mask!' 

She was obviously neurodiverse, struggled to complete a sentence - either ADHD or bipolar maybe? Anyway she evidently really found the lack of facial expression due to my masking very difficult. I didn't take it off though, because the only reason she wanted to see my face was because she wanted to ensure I was as shocked at her behaviour (rough language and actions) as she meant me to be. Luckily I only see her once a year! 

[Acadie]

Background: We're all boosted and both our teens had Covid toes early in the pandemic. This December, before dd15 was boosted, she had symptoms and tested positive. The rest of us were already boosted and no one else got sick.

Dh and I are still masking indoors. Dd15 masks at school except for lunch, distanced and behind a plexiglass barrier, and when running indoor track races, so she's our biggest household exposure. She actually has a sore throat and runny nose now, 3 days after Indoor States. She rapid tested negative.

On Twitter I've seen hospitalizations rising in the UK, and the epidemiologists I follow attribute it not to the BA.2 variant but to vaccine protection waning. In the UK 75+ will be getting a 4th shot, but as far as I know there's no plan here for 4th shots. 

Another factor in my cautiousness is that my 92 yo uncle is dying, one month after being hospitalized for pneumonia. I don't know and don't feel like I can ask my cousins if it was Covid pneumonia, but my guess is it probably was. So even though cases in my area are low I don't think the pandemic is over. We're catching up on preventive health care, finding creative ways to meet with friends, and went to a couple plays where masks and vaccines were required. But we're still avoiding indoor dining in public and anything else unmasked, except for school lunch and track events for dd15.

Her birthday is coming up in April so we'll need to figure that out--hopefully the weather cooperates for having friends around the firepit. 

Basically, I'm not spending time worried or afraid for my immediate household and we're living our lives, but masking in public.  

 

[Farrar]

I'm masking indoors in public indefinitely. I don't anticipate stopping, possibly for years. I especially see no reason to even think about stopping in places where I hang out indoors, like at co-op, in museums, and especially especially in theaters and at things like concerts. Like, you're in close proximity for an extended time with others. No way am I unmasking. That seems like the height of risky for absolutely no tradeoff. Masking is such a teeny thing. It's so easy. If you're not eating, there's no tradeoff other than wearing a piece of clothing essentially. I don't know that it makes any real difference in places where you go in and out like a store, but I'll keep masking there anyway because, again, such a small thing.

I unmasked outdoors and don't intend to remask outdoors unless it's specifically required in a particular situation.

Whenever case numbers are down, like they are now, then I'll unmask indoors with vaxxed friends and acquaintances in smaller groups whenever and I'll consider going out to eat. When case numbers go back up, I'll mask again or just avoid those activities.

Edited March 9, 2022 by Farrar

[regentrude]

Here people haven't been masking for months. University hasn't had a mask mandate since October. It was very uncomfortable with Omicron raging.

I still mask in public indoor spaces like classrooms and stores. Since numbers are low,  I now visit unmasked with small groups of friends indoors. Tomorrow I am attending my first open mic since June, will see if I feel comfortable without mask.

But I am not ready to go maskless on campus... we still had 18 reported cases last week at school, and I bet there are many more unreported ones.

[1234]

We’ve been eating indoors for a few months so I have no problem not masking. We’ve also been getting together indoors with family/friends for a while now. Our county was the only one in the state that even still had a mandate until this month so many places we went had very few masking anyway. 
 

ETA: I wanted to add that we’re all vaxxed/boosted.

Edited March 9, 2022 by Joker2

[SKL]

Just about everyone I know has either been vaxed, had Covid, or both.  The exception being my mom.

Masking has been optional here for a while, and I allow each of my kids and myself to choose.  My kids are not followers; they will do what they feel is right and makes sense.

I still don't feel like elderly / at risk people are safe, especially those who haven't been vaxed, so I continue to avoid them as I have for the past 2+ years.  I don't know how long I'll continue that, but it has nothing to do with masking IMO.

[regentrude]

26 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Masking is such a teeny thing. It's so easy. If you're not eating, there's no tradeoff other than wearing a piece of clothing essentially. 

Not quite. It is a LOT more exhausting to do public speaking while wearing a good mask. Lecturing in a large hall wearing an N95 simply sucks.

For running into stores etc it is really no big deal, but for those of us who have jobs that require talking and projecting, there is quite a tradeoff. ( I still do it, of course. Especially since most of the audience won't.  But it would make a heap of sense if the students had to mask so the lecturer could take theirs off.)

Edited March 9, 2022 by regentrude

[TravelingChris]

I am not masking in most places at most times.  And yes, I am higher risk which is why I got a 4th shot..  But I don;t like them very much at all.  I have to get my old style N95 respirator back- the one where I got to breathe better but didn't protect anyone else.  We are at the second to lowest color rate.  I am losing my vision, my hearing and my touch abilities.  i want to live well right now.

[TravelingChris]

Just now, TravelingChris said:

I am not masking in most places at most times.  And yes, I am higher risk which is why I got a 4th shot..  But I don;t like them very much at all.  I have to get my old style N95 respirator back- the one where I got to breathe better but didn't protect anyone else.  We are at the second to lowest color rate.  I am losing my vision, my hearing and my touch abilities.  i want to live well right now.

I mask when required, and when sick people are around or likely to be around.

[Farrar]

10 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Not quite. It is a LOT more exhausting to do public speaking while wearing a good mask. Lecturing in a large hall wearing an N95 simply sucks.

For running into stores etc it is really no big deal, but for those of us who have jobs that require talking and projecting, there is quite a tradeoff. ( I still do it, of course. Especially since most of the audience won't.  But it would make a heap of sense if the students had to mask so the lecturer could take theirs off.)

So, I wouldn't include that in my list of places with no tradeoff. I do teach, but to a small class. It's no big deal. If I was performing, or lecturing, I'd personally consider taking it off. But it would depend on my personal circumstances. The examples I gave were all places where I'm talking about sitting, observing, working on my own, or seeing people casually indoors but in public.

[Ausmumof3]

I don’t know. I was wondering myself as youngest gets vaxed tomorrow and then maybe? But covid is running riot through schools here again. I noticed most people were unmasked at work yesterday. I’m not even sure if it’s still mandated because I just haven’t kept up.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I mask at work (healthcare) and will likely continue even after the recommendations stop.  Not just for transmission control, but it helps with unpleasant odors and it hides my facial expressions.  I'm afraid I've forgotten how to school my features when encountering gross things or when patients say ridiculous things.  😄

Our state just removed the mask mandate this past week.  We live in a county with high vaccination rates and low positivity rates(1.8%), but our transmission rates are still "substantial" - likely due to population density and pockets of vaccine resistance.  The census of positives at the hospital where I work is the lowest it has been in 2 years.  And it is in an underserved area.  I haven't had to scan a Covid patient in over 2 weeks.  

I attended church this weekend without a mask and regretted it.  II felt uneasy the whole time.  I don't shop much but still wear a mask for that.  I don't mask outdoors unless I were to be in a crowded situation (which I typically avoid.)  I don't think dh masks at work anymore (only 4 people in the facility and they all have doors on their offices.) And I'm pretty sure he did not mask at a conference last week.  We are all vaxxed and boosted.  Plus, a family member who had been staying with us tested positive on Christmas day, so we survived that exposure without anyone else testing positive. 

DD21 just had Covid last week.  She is away at school and her university is over 95% vaxxed and boosted.  She did attend a sporting event unmasked, but  no one she has been in contact with has tested positive.  She was sick half of last semester with azithromycin-resistant strep (she's allergic to penicillin) so her system is likely not as healthy as it should be.  

Moving forward, I'm not sure what I plan to do.  Probably mask indoors when with unknown people or crowded situations (we still avoid crowds as much as possible.)  Likely unmasked when with small groups who are vaxxed and boosted.

I have a memorial service to go to next week and I know that none of my criteria for unmasking will be met, but I'll likely be the only one masking and probably looked down upon for doing so.  Not looking forward to that judgement.  

 

[Loowit]

We still have a state indoor mask mandate until the 12th of the month.  Once that is gone I don't foresee us doing things any different than we are now.  Doctor's offices will still require masks, and that is about the only place we go.  We do almost everything with curbside pick-up for shopping.  We have had two times in the last few months that we needed to go into a store and then we masked.  We will continue to mask in stores if we go inside.  I am especially anxious not to get sick before our upcoming trip.

We have, however, told DS that we will take him out to a sit down dinner on our trip.  The one thing he requested in his letters home.  We will try to find some place with outdoor seating if possible, but if not we will go inside.  Through out the whole of the pandemic we have been in one restaurant last summer when numbers were low, DH and I were both fully vaccinated, and seating was still limited.

DD's campus is going mask optional next week.  At least one of her teachers has said that she is requiring masks in her classroom.  DD plans to continue to mask as do a lot of her friends.  She is nervous about coming home for spring break and possibly bringing sickness with her.  But she will test before leaving campus, and DH and I are okay with the risk (I think).

[barnwife]

I mask. Why wouldn't I want to keep my germs to myself and protect myself from germs? If you are talking to someone and they sneeze, wouldn't you want them to se a tissue/turn their head and sneeze into their shoulder? Wearing a mask would catch those germs!

We went to church for the first time basically since 2020 recently. The kids and I masked. A handful of other people did, a very small handful. I went grocery shopping today and I don't know that I saw anyone else masking. Their choice. I just can't wrap my mind around why someone wouldn't mask. And yes, I've seen/heard all the reasons. But again, their choice (unless of course there is a mandate/a business requests it). I just don't understand it.

My brain says, "This tiny piece of cloth could help you and others stay healthy (and not just re: CV19). Those reasons pale in comparison." 

Maybe my brain is broken.
 

[Amira]

While I know that plenty of people still make assumptions about people who mask, I’m at least grateful that masking is finally somewhat normalized in most of the world.  It’s not a completely weird thing to mask now, so people have options.  I mask both for corona and air quality since I live in a city where the AQI is regularly in the 300-500 range.  I don’t mask if I’m outside and the AQI is below 150, but that happens less often than you’d think.  I’ll continue to mask indoors because, well, why not?  I don’t have circumstances in my life that make masking a problem indoors and I’ve loved hardly ever being sick for the last two years.  I’ll especially keep masking on flights.  

Most people don’t mask where I live, and I don’t really care.  I do appreciate that there’s still a mask mandate at church and that people follow it (we’re just coming off our omicron surge), but I’m curious to see how long people keep masking there.  I don’t plan to stop at church because again, why not?  Others can do their thing.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I live in the same state as Loowit, so we still have a mandate until the end of the week. I just told dh that I actually think that the first month after the mandate is lifted will be the most important month to mask carefully. Just until I see the impact of the mandate going away. I don’t care what others do at this point. 

[Melissa Louise]

55 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Not quite. It is a LOT more exhausting to do public speaking while wearing a good mask. Lecturing in a large hall wearing an N95 simply sucks.

For running into stores etc it is really no big deal, but for those of us who have jobs that require talking and projecting, there is quite a tradeoff. ( I still do it, of course. Especially since most of the audience won't.  But it would make a heap of sense if the students had to mask so the lecturer could take theirs off.)

I teach for five hours at a time in a P2 mask. It is extremely tiring. I mask because the students don't, and we have Covid in the community/school.

It is a really unpleasant thing to have to do. Just less unpleasant than risking Covid infection. 

 

[Tanaqui]

Spring 2020, I was able to breathe.

Winter 2020, I was able to breathe.

Winter 2021, I was able to breathe.

Here we are, exiting winter 2021 and entering spring 2022, and I can still breathe.

I somehow managed to dodge my normal winter 2019 cough, started isolating before the shut-down, and consequently haven't been up all night coughing in three years. I haven't wet my pants coughing in three years. I haven't given myself a headache coughing in three years. I haven't coughed so hard that I sat bolt upright and started to choke in three years. Even my usual seasonal depression has been mild compared to every year previously - I always thought it was just the lack of light, but now I think that a huge part of my seasonal depression was my inability to breathe.

Stop masking? Oh, honey, never.

[Mom_to3]

Cases and hospitalizations going back up in the UK, in all age groups, after their Freedom Day. Are we next?
Harvard is going mask optional (while suggesting people should keep masking), even though weekly cases are higher than ever except at the very peak of the Omicron wave. But they will increase testing of undergrads to three times a week and prohibit non-sponsored social gatherings for now. Odd. And what does "few hospitalizations...this year "mean? If it were really "few", why don't they tell us that it's fewer than 5, 10, 30, 50? It would be very interesting to know how Omicron does in an almost fully vaccinated "young" community. Faculty can request masks in classrooms. I suspect that at risk tenured faculty may say "screw student evaluations" and require masks; lecturers may not dare to. Harvard claims that individuals who choose to mask shouldn't feel forced to reveal why they are masking (hmm, Dr Walensky, scarlett letter anybody?). https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/3/8/harvard-lift-indoor-mask-requirement/

[KSera]

41 minutes ago, Mom_to3 said:

Cases and hospitalizations going back up in the UK, in all age groups, after their Freedom Day. Are we next?
Harvard is going mask optional (while suggesting people should keep masking), even though weekly cases are higher than ever except at the very peak of the Omicron wave. But they will increase testing of undergrads to three times a week and prohibit non-sponsored social gatherings for now. Odd. And what does "few hospitalizations...this year "mean? If it were really "few", why don't they tell us that it's fewer than 5, 10, 30, 50? It would be very interesting to know how Omicron does in an almost fully vaccinated "young" community. Faculty can request masks in classrooms. I suspect that at risk tenured faculty may say "screw student evaluations" and require masks; lecturers may not dare to. Harvard claims that individuals who choose to mask shouldn't feel forced to reveal why they are masking (hmm, Dr Walensky, scarlett letter anybody?). https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/3/8/harvard-lift-indoor-mask-requirement/

Do you know how the students there are feeling about it? I don’t know if you have a personal connection with the University. I know for my own college kids, they would by far rather keep mask mandates in place and be able to socialize with friends and carry-on otherwise fairly normally. It seems weird to have the mask mandate be the part they lift while tightening everything else. It makes no sense to me. Clearly it’s been working pretty well with the mask mandate for Harvard so far this year, why make things more restrictive just so that people don’t have to wear masks? I would just really be curious which way the students would prefer, since the prior way was working.

 

I’m keeping my eye on the UK as well. I’m starting to have this hopeful feeling that maybe we really were going to find ourselves coming out of this, but seeing the abrupt upward tick in hospitalizations happening there in all age groups is giving me the sinking feeling that it’s going to be just like the Delta wave all over again. Why don’t we ever learn? I mean, plenty of scientists have been saying loud and clear that this is premature, but the powers that be just can’t seem to learn that lifting things too early just starts a new cycle all over again.

[WendyLady]

3 hours ago, bookbard said:

I met a contractor at work today who snapped, 'I can't talk to you with you wearing that mask!' 

She was obviously neurodiverse, struggled to complete a sentence - either ADHD or bipolar maybe? Anyway she evidently really found the lack of facial expression due to my masking very difficult. I didn't take it off though, because the only reason she wanted to see my face was because she wanted to ensure I was as shocked at her behaviour (rough language and actions) as she meant me to be. Luckily I only see her once a year! 

 It sounds like you don’t have a great relationship, but your comment just seems mean. Masking and communicating with hearing loss has been a huge struggle for many people, and has likely hit the “neurodiverse” especially hard. 

It sounds like rough communication for both of you. It must have been frustrating. Here’s a study about how masking affects those with hearing loss. Perhaps it might be helpful to understand this from another angle. 
 

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(20)30843-0/fulltext

[WendyLady]

Our area recently lifted mandates and I’m delighted to not mask. Last week I read a really compassionate article supporting college students to help them through this time of transition away from masks. It helped me see that it may be a tough transition for a lot of people as there is safety in masking.
 

I can see that masking means a lot to many people. We live in such a diverse world that I’m sure our community needs and culture are vastly different. Even before Covid, we saw people masking on public transportation in DC. When we lived in that area, my husband rode the bus to work and got several nasty bugs that were likely from people in close quarters. Perhaps a mask would have helped him? At least it wouldn’t have hurt. 
 

It is nice to be able to make the choice. With a family member who suffered a major mental health crisis perhaps due to Covid restrictions, we are focused on being healthy in other ways that support immune health - being at a healthy weight, getting outdoors, creating healthy connections, etc, plus all the good things like hand washing and vitamins. 

 

[KSera]

38 minutes ago, WendyLady said:

Masking and communicating with hearing loss has been a huge struggle for many people, and has likely hit the “neurodiverse” especially hard. 

Certainly it’s been difficult for many with hearing loss. In my life, it has not hit any of my Neurodiverse loved ones or their neurodiverse friends hard, and several of them plan to continue masking even when not strictly necessary. So while there are some who have found masks difficult, including some on the spectrum, I haven’t found it to have much correlation with neurodiversity. 
 

[WendyLady]

sorry! Unnecessarily argumentative and not adding to the conversation 

Edited March 9, 2022 by WendyLady

[Arcadia]

We are still masking when shopping. However, we have stopped masking for retrieving our mail since we are unlikely to run into anyone.  In my area, it is common for asians to mask during flu season so wearing a mask isn’t seen as unusual. I saw more people wearing 3M P100 half-mask respirator recently.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I don't need anyone speculating why I'm masking or not.  I don't think that people would want me speculating if they are an anti-masker if they are not wearing a mask, right?  (And of course many people who are now going without masks have not been anti-maskers at all.)  So I hope that people return the favor and don't speculate as to whether I'm "scared" or "sick" or whatever if I choose to wear a mask or alternately why I might not be wearing a mask at a specific location.  I was actually in an area with no mask mandate and I was so pleased that it was a non-issue to most people if we masked or not.  (Probably 60 % of people were masked) - though this was earlier in the year so I have no idea what it is like there now. 

[WendyLady]

nm

Edited March 9, 2022 by WendyLady