As I walked along the bike trails of both the Yangjae Creek and the Tan Creek today, I noticed that a high percentage of people were either totally maskless or wearing masks on their chins. I'd put the number at around 30-40 percent, which is much higher than I'd seen in weeks past.
I think part of the reason is simple mask fatigue, which I can relate to. At this point, I'd say the pandemic has been over for a while, and masks are little more than theater—passports to get you into places. No mask, no service. I had also heard that the government had been dangling the prospect of lifting the mask mandate starting July 1 for people who had gotten vaccinated (how the hell do you enforce that, especially when vaccination is supposed to occur in two phases?), but because the government now says there's been a new outbreak of a mutant variant of the disease, the masks must remain on.
As they've been discussing on Instapundit since forever, these variants have been overblown in terms of their severity, and I haven't seen any figures saying they're that much deadlier than regular SARS-CoV-2. So I interpret this as the government simply being unable to let go of its power, and we all suffer as a result of the government's selfishness. Not that I'm affected that much: when I walk any distance outside after work, I take off my mask. No one says anything. I've been Karen'ed only once, and that was fairly lame.
So I expect the masks will remain a requirement for a while yet. This fall, I'll be hiking the east coast, and I remember from my reconnoiter that a lot of east-coasters didn't wear masks. Good for them. Corona affects the very old and the very sick, like any other flu. For most of us in the fat part of the bell curve, it's nothing tragic. I'm ashamed that the US is complicit in the research that led to this virus, but as I said, I think the pandemic has been over for a while, now. It's time for the masks to come off and for people to resume their normal lives.
One of the things I noticed when first moving to Korea in 2005 was the prevalence of mask-wearing, most notably on the subways. So, I think a certain percentage of the population will continue to wear them even when not mandated. That's fine of course, people should be free to choose.
ReplyDeleteThese COVID-prevention measures are a sad joke. I wear my pointless mask under my chin when I go out and only raise it to gain access or avoid arrest. I don't expect the mindless bureaucrats here to relent anytime soon. I guess it's just the new normal.