As I pen this column, the sun is shining, children are enjoying the first week of spring break in our region and some of us are getting used to not wearing masks anymore.
With the lifting of the mask mandate on March 11, we are still adjusting.
A quick trip to the grocery store early Sunday made me appreciate seeing people’s faces and knowing that I no longer needed to smile with my eyes as much as I had been since the mask mandate came into effect last fall.
However, there are people who will choose to continue wearing masks.
Many of them have told me they have vulnerable people living with them that they want to protect.
And most health care settings will continue to keep the mask mandate in place. I had a dentist appointment Monday and was required to wear one.
Here at work, we wore masks whenever we left our desks and observed the six-foot social distancing rule.
There is a box on the floor in our office area where discarded masks are accumulating as we were inspired to participate in the mask recycling program being run by the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society in partnership with the city and NEXT GENeral - Mercantile + Refillery.
I keep trying to remember to wear rubber gloves when I walk my dog in town because there are many masks among the litter on and near our city sidewalks, especially visible now that the snow is melting that I could pick up as well.
The next milestone in B.C. will be the vaccine passport program cancellation, slated for April 8.
It’s a program that has caused division within communities and families for sure, and its end will be one thing both operators of businesses and customers will have mixed feelings about.
To know what worked and what did not will take several years, as scientists examine the data to see how effective the mandates were in stopping the spread of COVID-19, and ultimately, related deaths.
As of March 15, 2022, there were 2,946 deaths in B.C., 37,038 deaths in Canada and 6,066,269 in the world, attributed to the virus.
We still need to be cautious, but also respect the choices each one of us make to protect ourselves and the ones we love.
READ MORE: Former B.C. health-care workers petition province over vaccine mandates
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