Well, not everyone but darned near everyone:

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-end-of-provincial-mask-order-hardly-noticeable-in-public-on-day-1?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_content_recirculation_with_ads

The Ontario mask mandate ends on March 21. I'm looking forward to seeing
if anyone de-masks - and curious to see if anyone freaks out when I
de-mask.... Given that I am driving a school bus this year, I will not
be shocked if there is pushback from the students and/or their parents
and/or the teacher who coordinates the school buses.

--
Rhino

On 2022-03-12 22:31:54 +0000, Rhino said:

> Well, not everyone but darned near everyone:
>
> https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-end-of-provincial-mask-order-hardly-noticeable-in-public-on-day-1?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_content_recirculation_with_ads
>
>
> The Ontario mask mandate ends on March 21. I'm looking forward to
> seeing if anyone de-masks - and curious to see if anyone freaks out
> when I de-mask.... Given that I am driving a school bus this year, I
> will not be shocked if there is pushback from the students and/or their
> parents and/or the teacher who coordinates the school buses.

The grocery stores here have stop requiring masks, so I don't wear one
anymore. Petco still wants a mask, so I will put one on for them, as
does my vet.

But, as of now, unless a storefront, etc. actually has a sign wanting
masks, I'm not wearing one.

However, my jobs are both antediluvian, and are still requiring masks,
and I'm guessing will through May now. Absolutely barbaric. But I'm
basically just an "at will" employee, so I have no say... :/

--
"Who would ever do this to him!?" - HottCiara on DOOL (04-27-2020), asking
who would stab Victor Kirakis... How about ANYONE WHO'S EVER MET HIM??!!

On Mar 12, 2022 at 2:31:54 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com>
wrote:

> Well, not everyone but darned near everyone:
>
>
> https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-end-of-provincial-mask-order-hardly-noticeable-in-public-on-day-1?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_content_recirculation_with_ads
>
> The Ontario mask mandate ends on March 21. I'm looking forward to seeing
> if anyone de-masks - and curious to see if anyone freaks out when I
> de-mask.... Given that I am driving a school bus this year, I will not
> be shocked if there is pushback from the students and/or their parents
> and/or the teacher who coordinates the school buses.

I just saw this article. The author's low-key hysteria is both hilarious and
sad.

--------------------------

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/josh-freed-florida-feels-like-another-planet-compared-with-quebec

I have a confession to make: I recently fled Quebec for a week, a refugee from
Legault’s 2.0 curfew-and-confinement rules. A friend told me about an
available condo in Florida, my wife and I made a last-second decision to
briefly escape and work remotely. But the second we landed, it felt like we'd
arrived on another planet. While Quebec is in full confinement mode, Florida
is Cowboyland, where you barely know COVID is happening, despite much higher
new case and hospitalization rates than ours. It's lunacy by Canadian
standards, but an eye-opening experience.

For starters, everyone's out and about, filling bars, restaurants, movies,
gyms, and jam-packed sports arenas. Stores and supermarkets don't require
masks but some cashiers and customers wear them, though often under their nose
or chin-- Florida-style. It seems a way of announcing: "Look-- I'm masked!"
when they're not.

Restaurants are fully open and peeking into some, they're mobbed. Waiters can
choose whether to wear masks and at least half don't. In ever-friendly
America, some customers even shake hands with their waiters before leaving, to
say: "Thanks, I'll have some germs for dessert." It's easy to spot Canadians
at restaurants as we're the ones properly masked and nervously sitting on the
terrace, even in the rain.

You can see the difference in the media, too. In Quebec, COVID totally
dominates the news, because there's almost nothing else happening. In Florida,
it's the reverse.

I checked the prestigious Miami Herald recently on a day Florida had risen to
more than 70,000 new daily cases-- almost twice as many per capita as Quebec,
much like their hospitalizations-- but the first mention of COVID anywhere in
the paper was exactly 18 stories down, with the headline: "Amid Omicron surge,
hospitals are stretched thin. What can Florida lawmakers do?" Ignore it, as
always, I guess. Meanwhile, the 19th story was: "Florida COVID update: 71,742
new cases as hospital patients increase."

Among the many stories played far higher up were: "Miami Marlins name managers
for minor-league affiliates" and "Microbial contamination in laxative can
cause a 'life-threatening’ infection."

But that still beats NBC TV's Florida website that day, which ran this story
way ahead of COVID: "Police officer kills dog in Miami-Dade after barking
complaint." It's hard to make this stuff up. Meanwhile, in La Presse the same
day, the top six stories were about COVID.

By any measure, Florida life seems surreal, as if everyone's wearing blinders
and trying not to notice a disease that's killed more than 63,000 Floridians.
That's about twice as many deaths as in all of Canada, in a state with
two-thirds our country's population.

It's health madness but there's a psychological upside, since COVID doesn't
dominate all life like here. We Montrealers live in a tense, depressing
pandemic bubble-- all-COVID, all the time-- which is why many people avoid
following the news. In Florida, entire conversations happen without the C-word
mentioned, unless you bring it up-- which, of course, I did. I asked a group
of seven 60-somethings I met at a restaurant terrace how they felt about
Florida's non-existent pandemic rules.

Every last one said they loved how Florida handles things. In the words of one
woman "Our philosophy here is: I look after myself and you look after
yourself. If you want to wear a mask indoors, you should. If you don't want to
go to a restaurant, you shouldn't." When I asked about our collective
responsibility to protect others she shrugged and said: "That's just not how
we think here."

I mentioned Quebec's recent curfew but they all just laughed, dismissing it as
"Canadian communism". Many others obviously agree as more people moved to
Florida during the pandemic than any other state. Thousands of Quebecers have
also looked into moving there since the pandemic.

It's a tale of two worlds. Like most Canadians, I still think collective
safety trumps some individual rights, but I'd prefer something between the
cowboy individualism of Florida and the heavy-handed paternalistic rules of
Quebec during this fifth wave.

Our curfew was lifted but we still can't legally invite anyone to our home,
while other Western countries and Canadian provinces allow from five to 20
guests.

Britain, France, Spain, and other European countries are starting to "live
with Omicron" like the seasonal flu and dropping many emergency measures.
Ontario plans to do likewise. When, if ever, will Quebec?

To fly home we needed a COVID PCR test, almost impossible to come by in
Montreal, with lineups hours long at most hospitals. Consequently, the Quebec
government won't allow anyone but the very sick to take them, while travelers
must go to private clinics and pay perhaps $200. Meanwhile, every Florida
pharmacy does free PCR tests, even for traveling foreigners. It seems bizarre
in a country with no universal medicare, where people are often bankrupted by
medical bills.

But when we went for our free test at a pharmacy, there were a dozen people
waiting, all wearing masks, the only place I'd seen that all week.

For the first time, it felt a bit like home.

On 2022-03-12 8:08 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
> On Mar 12, 2022 at 2:31:54 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Well, not everyone but darned near everyone:
>>
>>
>> https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-end-of-provincial-mask-order-hardly-noticeable-in-public-on-day-1?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_content_recirculation_with_ads
>>
>> The Ontario mask mandate ends on March 21. I'm looking forward to seeing
>> if anyone de-masks - and curious to see if anyone freaks out when I
>> de-mask.... Given that I am driving a school bus this year, I will not
>> be shocked if there is pushback from the students and/or their parents
>> and/or the teacher who coordinates the school buses.
>
> I just saw this article. The author's low-key hysteria is both hilarious and
> sad.
>
> --------------------------
>
> https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/josh-freed-florida-feels-like-another-planet-compared-with-quebec
>
> I have a confession to make: I recently fled Quebec for a week, a refugee from
> Legault’s 2.0 curfew-and-confinement rules. A friend told me about an
> available condo in Florida, my wife and I made a last-second decision to
> briefly escape and work remotely. But the second we landed, it felt like we'd
> arrived on another planet. While Quebec is in full confinement mode, Florida
> is Cowboyland, where you barely know COVID is happening, despite much higher
> new case and hospitalization rates than ours. It's lunacy by Canadian
> standards, but an eye-opening experience.
>
> For starters, everyone's out and about, filling bars, restaurants, movies,
> gyms, and jam-packed sports arenas. Stores and supermarkets don't require
> masks but some cashiers and customers wear them, though often under their nose
> or chin-- Florida-style. It seems a way of announcing: "Look-- I'm masked!"
> when they're not.
>
> Restaurants are fully open and peeking into some, they're mobbed. Waiters can
> choose whether to wear masks and at least half don't. In ever-friendly
> America, some customers even shake hands with their waiters before leaving, to
> say: "Thanks, I'll have some germs for dessert." It's easy to spot Canadians
> at restaurants as we're the ones properly masked and nervously sitting on the
> terrace, even in the rain.
>
> You can see the difference in the media, too. In Quebec, COVID totally
> dominates the news, because there's almost nothing else happening. In Florida,
> it's the reverse.
>
> I checked the prestigious Miami Herald recently on a day Florida had risen to
> more than 70,000 new daily cases-- almost twice as many per capita as Quebec,
> much like their hospitalizations-- but the first mention of COVID anywhere in
> the paper was exactly 18 stories down, with the headline: "Amid Omicron surge,
> hospitals are stretched thin. What can Florida lawmakers do?" Ignore it, as
> always, I guess. Meanwhile, the 19th story was: "Florida COVID update: 71,742
> new cases as hospital patients increase."
>
> Among the many stories played far higher up were: "Miami Marlins name managers
> for minor-league affiliates" and "Microbial contamination in laxative can
> cause a 'life-threatening’ infection."
>
> But that still beats NBC TV's Florida website that day, which ran this story
> way ahead of COVID: "Police officer kills dog in Miami-Dade after barking
> complaint." It's hard to make this stuff up. Meanwhile, in La Presse the same
> day, the top six stories were about COVID.
>
> By any measure, Florida life seems surreal, as if everyone's wearing blinders
> and trying not to notice a disease that's killed more than 63,000 Floridians.
> That's about twice as many deaths as in all of Canada, in a state with
> two-thirds our country's population.
>
> It's health madness but there's a psychological upside, since COVID doesn't
> dominate all life like here. We Montrealers live in a tense, depressing
> pandemic bubble-- all-COVID, all the time-- which is why many people avoid
> following the news. In Florida, entire conversations happen without the C-word
> mentioned, unless you bring it up-- which, of course, I did. I asked a group
> of seven 60-somethings I met at a restaurant terrace how they felt about
> Florida's non-existent pandemic rules.
>
> Every last one said they loved how Florida handles things. In the words of one
> woman "Our philosophy here is: I look after myself and you look after
> yourself. If you want to wear a mask indoors, you should. If you don't want to
> go to a restaurant, you shouldn't." When I asked about our collective
> responsibility to protect others she shrugged and said: "That's just not how
> we think here."
>
> I mentioned Quebec's recent curfew but they all just laughed, dismissing it as
> "Canadian communism". Many others obviously agree as more people moved to
> Florida during the pandemic than any other state. Thousands of Quebecers have
> also looked into moving there since the pandemic.
>
> It's a tale of two worlds. Like most Canadians, I still think collective
> safety trumps some individual rights, but I'd prefer something between the
> cowboy individualism of Florida and the heavy-handed paternalistic rules of
> Quebec during this fifth wave.
>
> Our curfew was lifted but we still can't legally invite anyone to our home,
> while other Western countries and Canadian provinces allow from five to 20
> guests.
>
> Britain, France, Spain, and other European countries are starting to "live
> with Omicron" like the seasonal flu and dropping many emergency measures.
> Ontario plans to do likewise. When, if ever, will Quebec?
>
> To fly home we needed a COVID PCR test, almost impossible to come by in
> Montreal, with lineups hours long at most hospitals. Consequently, the Quebec
> government won't allow anyone but the very sick to take them, while travelers
> must go to private clinics and pay perhaps $200. Meanwhile, every Florida
> pharmacy does free PCR tests, even for traveling foreigners. It seems bizarre
> in a country with no universal medicare, where people are often bankrupted by
> medical bills.
>
> But when we went for our free test at a pharmacy, there were a dozen people
> waiting, all wearing masks, the only place I'd seen that all week.
>
> For the first time, it felt a bit like home.
>
>
I recently read a novelized account of something that really happened in
history where a group of hostages had been held for months or more by a
mad dictator, with most of them in very heavy shackles. In a moment of
lucidity, the dictator let his minions remove the shackles from his
hostages and all the hostages walked very strangely, as if they were
still wearing the heavy shackles and could no longer walk normally. I
think that's where we are with the mask mandate: even if it is no longer
required, many will keep wearing them just because it feels strange or
even "wrong" not to do so. We got conditioned to masks as "the new
normal" and we're not sure how to go back to the *old* normal.

I suppose the major wars, like WW II, were like that too. It must have
taken some time for all concerned to really feel like the war was over
and that peace was back....

--
Rhino

On 2022-03-13 03:15:41 +0000, Rhino said:

> On 2022-03-12 8:08 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
>> On Mar 12, 2022 at 2:31:54 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Well, not everyone but darned near everyone:
>>>
>>>
>>> https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-end-of-provincial-mask-order-hardly-noticeable-in-public-on-day-1?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_content_recirculation_with_ads
>>>
>>>
>>> The Ontario mask mandate ends on March 21. I'm looking forward to seeing
>>> if anyone de-masks - and curious to see if anyone freaks out when I
>>> de-mask.... Given that I am driving a school bus this year, I will not
>>> be shocked if there is pushback from the students and/or their parents
>>> and/or the teacher who coordinates the school buses.
>>
>> I just saw this article. The author's low-key hysteria is both hilarious and
>> sad.
>>
>> --------------------------
>>
>> https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/josh-freed-florida-feels-like-another-planet-compared-with-quebec
>>
>>
>> I have a confession to make: I recently fled Quebec for a week, a
>> refugee from Legault’s 2.0 curfew-and-confinement rules. A friend told
>> me about an
>> available condo in Florida, my wife and I made a last-second decision to
>> briefly escape and work remotely. But the second we landed, it felt
>> like we'd arrived on another planet. While Quebec is in full
>> confinement mode, Florida is Cowboyland, where you barely know COVID is
>> happening, despite much higher new case and hospitalization rates than
>> ours. It's lunacy by Canadian standards, but an eye-opening experience.
>>
>> For starters, everyone's out and about, filling bars, restaurants, movies,
>> gyms, and jam-packed sports arenas. Stores and supermarkets don't require
>> masks but some cashiers and customers wear them, though often under
>> their nose or chin-- Florida-style. It seems a way of announcing:
>> "Look-- I'm masked!" when they're not.
>>
>> Restaurants are fully open and peeking into some, they're mobbed.
>> Waiters can choose whether to wear masks and at least half don't. In
>> ever-friendly
>> America, some customers even shake hands with their waiters before
>> leaving, to say: "Thanks, I'll have some germs for dessert." It's easy
>> to spot Canadians at restaurants as we're the ones properly masked and
>> nervously sitting on the terrace, even in the rain.
>>
>> You can see the difference in the media, too. In Quebec, COVID totally
>> dominates the news, because there's almost nothing else happening. In
>> Florida, it's the reverse.
>>
>> I checked the prestigious Miami Herald recently on a day Florida had
>> risen to more than 70,000 new daily cases-- almost twice as many per
>> capita as Quebec, much like their hospitalizations-- but the first
>> mention of COVID anywhere in the paper was exactly 18 stories down,
>> with the headline: "Amid Omicron surge, hospitals are stretched thin.
>> What can Florida lawmakers do?" Ignore it, as always, I guess.
>> Meanwhile, the 19th story was: "Florida COVID update: 71,742 new cases
>> as hospital patients increase."
>>
>> Among the many stories played far higher up were: "Miami Marlins name
>> managers for minor-league affiliates" and "Microbial contamination in
>> laxative can cause a 'life-threatening’ infection."
>>
>> But that still beats NBC TV's Florida website that day, which ran this story
>> way ahead of COVID: "Police officer kills dog in Miami-Dade after barking
>> complaint." It's hard to make this stuff up. Meanwhile, in La Presse
>> the same day, the top six stories were about COVID.
>>
>> By any measure, Florida life seems surreal, as if everyone's wearing
>> blinders and trying not to notice a disease that's killed more than
>> 63,000 Floridians. That's about twice as many deaths as in all of
>> Canada, in a state with two-thirds our country's population.
>>
>> It's health madness but there's a psychological upside, since COVID doesn't
>> dominate all life like here. We Montrealers live in a tense, depressing
>> pandemic bubble-- all-COVID, all the time-- which is why many people avoid
>> following the news. In Florida, entire conversations happen without the
>> C-word mentioned, unless you bring it up-- which, of course, I did. I
>> asked a group of seven 60-somethings I met at a restaurant terrace how
>> they felt about Florida's non-existent pandemic rules.
>>
>> Every last one said they loved how Florida handles things. In the words
>> of one woman "Our philosophy here is: I look after myself and you look
>> after
>> yourself. If you want to wear a mask indoors, you should. If you don't
>> want to go to a restaurant, you shouldn't." When I asked about our
>> collective
>> responsibility to protect others she shrugged and said: "That's just not how
>> we think here."
>>
>> I mentioned Quebec's recent curfew but they all just laughed,
>> dismissing it as "Canadian communism". Many others obviously agree as
>> more people moved to
>> Florida during the pandemic than any other state. Thousands of
>> Quebecers have also looked into moving there since the pandemic.
>>
>> It's a tale of two worlds. Like most Canadians, I still think collective
>> safety trumps some individual rights, but I'd prefer something between the
>> cowboy individualism of Florida and the heavy-handed paternalistic rules of
>> Quebec during this fifth wave.
>>
>> Our curfew was lifted but we still can't legally invite anyone to our home,
>> while other Western countries and Canadian provinces allow from five to 20
>> guests.
>>
>> Britain, France, Spain, and other European countries are starting to "live
>> with Omicron" like the seasonal flu and dropping many emergency measures.
>> Ontario plans to do likewise. When, if ever, will Quebec?
>>
>> To fly home we needed a COVID PCR test, almost impossible to come by in
>> Montreal, with lineups hours long at most hospitals. Consequently, the
>> Quebec government won't allow anyone but the very sick to take them,
>> while travelers must go to private clinics and pay perhaps $200.
>> Meanwhile, every Florida pharmacy does free PCR tests, even for
>> traveling foreigners. It seems bizarre in a country with no universal
>> medicare, where people are often bankrupted by medical bills.
>>
>> But when we went for our free test at a pharmacy, there were a dozen people
>> waiting, all wearing masks, the only place I'd seen that all week.
>>
>> For the first time, it felt a bit like home.
>
> I recently read a novelized account of something that really happened
> in history where a group of hostages had been held for months or more
> by a mad dictator, with most of them in very heavy shackles. In a
> moment of lucidity, the dictator let his minions remove the shackles
> from his hostages and all the hostages walked very strangely, as if
> they were still wearing the heavy shackles and could no longer walk
> normally. I think that's where we are with the mask mandate: even if it
> is no longer required, many will keep wearing them just because it
> feels strange or even "wrong" not to do so. We got conditioned to masks
> as "the new normal" and we're not sure how to go back to the *old*
> normal.

Governments are telling people they don't need to wear a mask, but WHO
hasn't yet said the pandemic is "over" and the prove is that most
countries dropping restrictions have seen unsurprising increases in
case numbers.

The virus is still very abundan, so simple intelligence and common
sense (unfortunately both extrmely rare!) would tell you to continue to
wear a mask and get any appropriate booster jabs.

> I suppose the major wars, like WW II, were like that too. It must have
> taken some time for all concerned to really feel like the war was over
> and that peace was back....

On 2022-03-13 05:07:42 +0000, Your Name said:

> On 2022-03-13 03:15:41 +0000, Rhino said:
>> On 2022-03-12 8:08 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
>>> On Mar 12, 2022 at 2:31:54 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Well, not everyone but darned near everyone:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-end-of-provincial-mask-order-hardly-noticeable-in-public-on-day-1?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_content_recirculation_with_ads
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The Ontario mask mandate ends on March 21. I'm looking forward to seeing
>>>> if anyone de-masks - and curious to see if anyone freaks out when I
>>>> de-mask.... Given that I am driving a school bus this year, I will not
>>>> be shocked if there is pushback from the students and/or their parents
>>>> and/or the teacher who coordinates the school buses.
>>>
>>> I just saw this article. The author's low-key hysteria is both hilarious and
>>> sad.
>>>
>>> --------------------------
>>>
>>> https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/josh-freed-florida-feels-like-another-planet-compared-with-quebec
>>>
>>>
>>> I have a confession to make: I recently fled Quebec for a week, a
>>> refugee from Legault’s 2.0 curfew-and-confinement rules. A friend told
>>> me about an
>>> available condo in Florida, my wife and I made a last-second decision to
>>> briefly escape and work remotely. But the second we landed, it felt
>>> like we'd arrived on another planet. While Quebec is in full
>>> confinement mode, Florida is Cowboyland, where you barely know COVID is
>>> happening, despite much higher new case and hospitalization rates than
>>> ours. It's lunacy by Canadian standards, but an eye-opening experience.
>>>
>>> For starters, everyone's out and about, filling bars, restaurants, movies,
>>> gyms, and jam-packed sports arenas. Stores and supermarkets don't require
>>> masks but some cashiers and customers wear them, though often under
>>> their nose or chin-- Florida-style. It seems a way of announcing:
>>> "Look-- I'm masked!" when they're not.
>>>
>>> Restaurants are fully open and peeking into some, they're mobbed.
>>> Waiters can choose whether to wear masks and at least half don't. In
>>> ever-friendly
>>> America, some customers even shake hands with their waiters before
>>> leaving, to say: "Thanks, I'll have some germs for dessert." It's easy
>>> to spot Canadians at restaurants as we're the ones properly masked and
>>> nervously sitting on the terrace, even in the rain.
>>>
>>> You can see the difference in the media, too. In Quebec, COVID totally
>>> dominates the news, because there's almost nothing else happening. In
>>> Florida, it's the reverse.
>>>
>>> I checked the prestigious Miami Herald recently on a day Florida had
>>> risen to more than 70,000 new daily cases-- almost twice as many per
>>> capita as Quebec, much like their hospitalizations-- but the first
>>> mention of COVID anywhere in the paper was exactly 18 stories down,
>>> with the headline: "Amid Omicron surge, hospitals are stretched thin.
>>> What can Florida lawmakers do?" Ignore it, as always, I guess.
>>> Meanwhile, the 19th story was: "Florida COVID update: 71,742 new cases
>>> as hospital patients increase."
>>>
>>> Among the many stories played far higher up were: "Miami Marlins name
>>> managers for minor-league affiliates" and "Microbial contamination in
>>> laxative can cause a 'life-threatening’ infection."
>>>
>>> But that still beats NBC TV's Florida website that day, which ran this story
>>> way ahead of COVID: "Police officer kills dog in Miami-Dade after barking
>>> complaint." It's hard to make this stuff up. Meanwhile, in La Presse
>>> the same day, the top six stories were about COVID.
>>>
>>> By any measure, Florida life seems surreal, as if everyone's wearing
>>> blinders and trying not to notice a disease that's killed more than
>>> 63,000 Floridians. That's about twice as many deaths as in all of
>>> Canada, in a state with two-thirds our country's population.
>>>
>>> It's health madness but there's a psychological upside, since COVID doesn't
>>> dominate all life like here. We Montrealers live in a tense, depressing
>>> pandemic bubble-- all-COVID, all the time-- which is why many people avoid
>>> following the news. In Florida, entire conversations happen without the
>>> C-word mentioned, unless you bring it up-- which, of course, I did. I
>>> asked a group of seven 60-somethings I met at a restaurant terrace how
>>> they felt about Florida's non-existent pandemic rules.
>>>
>>> Every last one said they loved how Florida handles things. In the words
>>> of one woman "Our philosophy here is: I look after myself and you look
>>> after
>>> yourself. If you want to wear a mask indoors, you should. If you don't
>>> want to go to a restaurant, you shouldn't." When I asked about our
>>> collective
>>> responsibility to protect others she shrugged and said: "That's just not how
>>> we think here."
>>>
>>> I mentioned Quebec's recent curfew but they all just laughed,
>>> dismissing it as "Canadian communism". Many others obviously agree as
>>> more people moved to
>>> Florida during the pandemic than any other state. Thousands of
>>> Quebecers have also looked into moving there since the pandemic.
>>>
>>> It's a tale of two worlds. Like most Canadians, I still think collective
>>> safety trumps some individual rights, but I'd prefer something between the
>>> cowboy individualism of Florida and the heavy-handed paternalistic rules of
>>> Quebec during this fifth wave.
>>>
>>> Our curfew was lifted but we still can't legally invite anyone to our home,
>>> while other Western countries and Canadian provinces allow from five to 20
>>> guests.
>>>
>>> Britain, France, Spain, and other European countries are starting to "live
>>> with Omicron" like the seasonal flu and dropping many emergency measures.
>>> Ontario plans to do likewise. When, if ever, will Quebec?
>>>
>>> To fly home we needed a COVID PCR test, almost impossible to come by in
>>> Montreal, with lineups hours long at most hospitals. Consequently, the
>>> Quebec government won't allow anyone but the very sick to take them,
>>> while travelers must go to private clinics and pay perhaps $200.
>>> Meanwhile, every Florida pharmacy does free PCR tests, even for
>>> traveling foreigners. It seems bizarre in a country with no universal
>>> medicare, where people are often bankrupted by medical bills.
>>>
>>> But when we went for our free test at a pharmacy, there were a dozen people
>>> waiting, all wearing masks, the only place I'd seen that all week.
>>>
>>> For the first time, it felt a bit like home.
>>
>> I recently read a novelized account of something that really happened
>> in history where a group of hostages had been held for months or more
>> by a mad dictator, with most of them in very heavy shackles. In a
>> moment of lucidity, the dictator let his minions remove the shackles
>> from his hostages and all the hostages walked very strangely, as if
>> they were still wearing the heavy shackles and could no longer walk
>> normally. I think that's where we are with the mask mandate: even if it
>> is no longer required, many will keep wearing them just because it
>> feels strange or even "wrong" not to do so. We got conditioned to masks
>> as "the new normal" and we're not sure how to go back to the *old*
>> normal.
>
> Governments are telling people they don't need to wear a mask, but WHO
> hasn't yet said the pandemic is "over" and the prove is that most
> countries dropping restrictions have seen unsurprising increases in
> case numbers.
>
> The virus is still very abundan, so simple intelligence and common
> sense (unfortunately both extrmely rare!) would tell you to continue to
> wear a mask...