Do you support the current ending of the mask mandate?

[kenny]

Do you support the current ending of the mask mandate?
Please post why.

I set this poll up so your vote is confidential.
So you can vote free from retaliation.

 

[kenny]

Personally I voted no, very strongly.

Why?
It will extend the pandemic, which (besides unnecessary deaths) will create more virus factories walking around, increasing mutations, further extending the pandemic.

I don't like wearing a mask or all the other inconveniences any more than anyone else, but this virus is insidious.
The mask is less inconvenient than dying.

I have no problem with masking and social distancing for the rest of my life.
It's worth it ... I'm more likely to have a life, a less-convenient one, but a life.

 

[diamondringlover]

I still wear mine in public......

 

[AprilBaby]

No, strongly. Masks don’t hurt anyone. Covid kills.

 

[MamaBee]

I voted no very strongly..

 

[lala646]

No, very strongly, and I will continue to wear mine in public settings.

 

[missy]

No I do not support the ending of the mask mandate and I feel very strongly about this.
My husband disagrees with me. But fortunately he continues to wear one and will continue to do so as long as I want him to.

I look at it this way. It's an added layer of protection. It doesn't hurt. The more ways we protect ourselves and others the better off we will be. Is it really that hard to wear a mask? No one likes it but it's not a huge deal. Cmon. My dh feels most people wear their masks wrong and under their noses etc so what's the point. I do not agree with his reasoning.

Just wear the masks until we are out of pandemic mode. You can help protect yourself and others.

 

[RetroQT]

I’m in Florida and we haven’t had mask mandates in place for over a year and a half. I am all for people having the choice to wear them vs. mandating it.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Nope
No way
My mask is staying on

here you still have to, to go into a shop but we can now have unlimited indoor gatherings and resturants and cafes dont need masks

where i work is not a cafe - we are a shop (that sells sandwiches, pies etc)
One the first day the restrictions eaiaed we had one customer try it on
but we are a shop !

People are every every day of covid
I certainly don't want it and i dont want to bring it home

Also we are still encouraging only two people in at once

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

No I do not support the ending of the mask mandate and I feel very strongly about this.
My husband disagrees with me. But fortunately he continues to wear one and will continue to do so as long as I want him to.

I look at it this way. It's an added layer of protection. It doesn't hurt. The more ways we protect ourselves and others the better off we will be. Is it really that hard to wear a mask? No one likes it but it's not a huge deal. Cmon. My dh feels most people wear their masks wrong and under their noses etc so what's the point. I do not agree with his reasoning.

Just wear the masks until we are out of pandemic mode. You can help protect yourself and others.

You and me will save our world at least missy
even though i dont like wearing the mask (sometimes i wear two - a cloth one over the other) im putting up with it

 

[Demon]

No, very strongly. We appear to be unable to learn and will have more surges. I still wear a mask at the grocery store or anywhere that's indoors or crowded. I didn't have so much as a cold last year, thanks to masks, and I enjoyed that.

 

[nala]

Yes. I support it. People have a choice and can wear them if they choose. I choose not to wear mine. I’m fully vaccinated. I have been teaching maskless since Mid March. 5 classes of 30 different kids a day. So far, the vaccine works for me. It makes my life easier, better, etc. and isn’t that the goal of the vaccine? I also tested out the maskless theory when we ended the requirement for a mask for a while. As long as I’m vaccinated, I prefer this lifestyle for me.

 

[Lookinagain]

I voted no, very strongly. Mask mandates in many cities/states were lifted not so long ago too and the case count (that we actually can count, now with home testing) is rising again. To me, that means more variants. I will continue to mask up while indoors. And I think two people together, both wearing masks, is better protection for both than only one wearing a mask. Yes, it's inconvenient, but it beats dying or getting long Covid, or knowing that you infected someone else who died because you didn't feel like wearing a simple mask.

 

[missy]

I’ve posted this before.

 

[MrsBlue]

I will continue to wear one in appropriate settings and I'm super glad that I work from home.

 

[lilmosun]

I vote 50-50.

Why/when I am okay with it

I am resigned to the fact that Covid is something that we have to learn to live with and with vaccines, the risk of severe illness/death is low. (Not that any death is good, but realistically it won't likely be 0). Admittedly part of me wonders if most will eventually get it, if they have not. There is some comfort that anyone I know who's gotten the recent variants have only had mild cases.

So I am okay with lifting most mask mandates indoors as long as hospitalizations do not go up. I can avoid crowds and always have the option to wear a mask myself (which I do). Things like games/concerts, I can choose to attend or not attend.

Hopefully the right to wear a mask is protected and employers will not allow mask-shaming for those who choose to do so. My employer has made it clear that any judgement on mask wearing will not be tolerated. When we first returned to office, I was first definitely in the minority wearing a mask when not sitting at my desk. But with some cases occurring in the office, I see more people wearing them.

What/why I am against it

I do not agree with the latest ruling to remove the mandate on public transportation...where crowds/continue close contact cannot be avoided and people do not have other options to avoid it. There are still people who are at risk of severe illness (can't/don't get vaccinated, immune compromised, etc..). Admittedly, there is a personal bias here as with the return to office, I have to now fly back/forth to take care of my mother -and- work in the city. Fortunately, I've gotten my business partners to agree we won't have meetings after 4 so people can arrive/leave early to avoid rush hour crowds on the trains.

My biggest problem with lifting the mandates is that even if that, in our country being what it is, there will be no tolerance for reinstating if needed.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Im too scared to take the bus
mind you we have a terrible service here
The odd time ive taken it (double masked) the same bunch of older people either dont wear their mask over their nose or have it under their chin

Thankfully last time it was a very quick ride home - less than 15 min from town - but i usually seem to get some weird scenic combined route which would have been almost pleasent pre-covid

Anyway i did not feel safe
i sat under an open window as close to the back door as i could

Masks are surposed to me mandatory on public transport here still

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Btw i am not the mask police
if someone has an exception i am nice
and if someone comes into work without one i offer them one (we have plenty of boxes of them at the bakehouse)
Everyone forgets sooner or latter
like riding your bike with no helmet
it feels weird -

 

[MamaBear]

Yes, I am in support of ending the mask mandate.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I'm all for people making their own choices at this stage. We were promised that the vaccine would give us back some semblance of normal and 95% of us have had that vaccine so time to grab back that "normal".

That said almost everyone I know has had Covid including my own kid so that's probably why I'm pretty chilled about it.

We keep attending super spreader events and frequenting packed trains so it's kinda futile to make people wear masks when I'm socialising with 10-15 maskless people in my house.

I'm amused that Australia went from bats#t insane "We are going to lock you up forever
and track down your cousin twice removed if you have Covid" to "Covid? Whatevs! Don't get bitten by mozzies, that new disease will kill you."

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Im too scared to take the bus
mind you we have a terrible service here
The odd time ive taken it (double masked) the same bunch of older people either dont wear their mask over their nose or have it under their chin

Thankfully last time it was a very quick ride home - less than 15 min from town - but i usually seem to get some weird scenic combined route which would have been almost pleasent pre-covid

Anyway i did not feel safe
i sat under an open window as close to the back door as i could

Masks are surposed to me mandatory on public transport here still

Last week I had to catch the train around for basically the entire day! Kid had a lab that took ten thousand train trips to get to.

Omg I walked into this jam packed carriage with this girl coughing her guts out (maskless) and I was like "I'm gonna die from these trips." I only had a cloth mask on.

Fortunately haven't caught anything yet! Trains are so festy!!!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Last week I had to catch the train around for basically the entire day! Kid had a lab that took ten thousand train trips to get to.

Omg I walked into this jam packed carriage with this girl coughing her guts out (maskless) and I was like "I'm gonna die from these trips." I only had a cloth mask on.

Fortunately haven't caught anything yet! Trains are so festy!!!

Phew
the lady who worked with us yesterday (she usually worksc at another branch and is covering for annual leave) was convinced she would catch it yesterday
We are right on the main road / state highway heading into town and gets lots of out of towners
Im sure she will be fine but i totally get the worry and panic of anything out of the usual routine

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I'm all for people making their own choices at this stage. We were promised that the vaccine would give us back some semblance of normal and 95% of us have had that vaccine so time to grab back that "normal".

That said almost everyone I know has had Covid including my own kid so that's probably why I'm pretty chilled about it.

We keep attending super spreader events and frequenting packed trains so it's kinda futile to make people wear masks when I'm socialising with 10-15 maskless people in my house.

I'm amused that Australia went from bats#t insane "We are going to lock you up forever
and track down your cousin twice removed if you have Covid" to "Covid? Whatevs! Don't get bitten by mozzies, that new disease will kill you."

That's how i feel the govt went here too
i honestly think the bills just started to pile up and it was costing too much money
Our deaths are how over 600 ...maybe 700 after only having been 30 before omacon
those deaths are on her (the PM) if you ask me

 

[pearlsngems]

No. The virus is not done with us.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I can't say I'm okay with it, but there is a level of acceptance. So: 50/50, only because that's no different than it's always been in practice. DH went back to the office several months ago and with an almost total vaccination rate, they no longer wear them and there hasn't been any infection from that end. The children go to a school with low compliance and one has a job where there is essentially no compliance. We, the adults, continue to wear them when out and going to be indoors, we as a family been vaxxed and boosted but continued resistance to mask wearing isn't going to change. I've noticed that the people who will wear them, continue to when applicable. It's the best we can do. Variants are going to happen now that we've entered the endemic period, that's why we have vaccines. Luckily the death rates from Covid have been steadily reduced over the last several months and I can only hope this continues.

 

[LilAlex]

It should be determined by people who understand the implications. It should not be determined by a laughably underqualified political-activist judge.

Masks are still required at my work. Outside work, I wear a surgical-type disposable mask when I am out and about and expect to be around people.

I will wear an N-95 on the plane for the foreseeable future. I may never stop doing that. Even some mask-hating friends agree. I used to get sick about 1/3 of the time I flew. I am doing way better than that now.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I still feel very bad about how pre covid we used to laugh at the Asian English language students outside their school in downtown Wellington who wore masks out on the street
those kids were smart
Smarter than me

 

[margauxmines]

NO, very strongly. My N95 mask stays on, so will my parents', and I will continue to order fresh stocks of N95 masks for us regularly.
While I am more okay now with going out to eat with friends, I'm still very cautious around people I don't know, so masks are still important to me.
They are not inconvenient. They are life-saving.

I hope the 2nd booster shot gets approved in my country soon! I will immediately sign my parents and myself up for it!

 

[missy]

It should be determined by people who understand the implications. It should not be determined by a laughably underqualified political-activist judge.

100% this. And this is just one example of how broken our system is. The people making the decisions don't understand the science behind this. If they did the mask mandate would not be in question. Or let's say maybe some of them do. They are putting politics ahead of our well being. Wearing masks isn't slowing down productivity and isn't costing the economy money. There is absolutely zero good reason the mask mandate should be lifted at this time. IMO.

Many PSers understand the reasoning behind masks better than the people making the decisions do.
But that doesn't surprise me.





Though the poll doesn't reflect as high a pro mask stance as I would have thought it would. I suspect because some people are Covid fatigued and just tired of the pandemic and want life to get back to "normal". The thing is we won't get back to "normal" if we have another surge and more deaths. The pandemic of 1918/19 IIRC had the most number of deaths with their last surge.

 

[Made in London]

I voted No Very strongly