On March 21, 2022, the requirement to wear a mask in most indoor settings in Ontario was lifted. Masks are still required on public transit and in retirement homes, but no longer in schools and stores. It’s been quite an adjustment seeing uncovered faces in the grocery aisles.
It’s been a long time coming, but I’m in no rush to go maskless. I prefer to wait and see how things go.
I have to admit that I’ve been finding it a bit challenging not to judge those who decided to ditch the mask as soon as they were told they could. I happened to go to a grocery store on March 21, forgetting it was the day the mask mandate had been dropped. I saw bare faces and panicked until I realized what was going on. My panic didn’t completely disappear with this realization, however—it simply melted into fear and resentment.
I don’t want to be one of those people politicizing the decision to wear a mask or not. There’s so much of that in the news and on les réseaux sociaux. I want to respect everyone’s choice. After all, if the Ontario government says we don’t have to wear a mask, the people who choose not to aren’t breaking any rules.
I don’t want to be one of those people politicizing the decision to wear a mask or not. There’s so much of that in the news and on social media.
Still, part of me couldn’t help resenting all of the people (and there were a lot) who walked into the grocery store that day without a mask. The pandemic isn’t over yet. I worry about the numbers skyrocketing again, and all of the consequences that could follow.
We’ve been through a hellish two years of mass hospitalization, mass death and mass disruption to people’s livelihoods. Why not continue wearing a mask if doing so could help keep our province moving in the right direction? It’s a simple act that could significantly influence whether or not the people around us get sick.
I know I need to be more open-minded and accepting. Maybe some people believe that masks don’t make that much of a difference. Maybe they’re just as frustrated with my decision to continue to wear a mask as I am with their decision not to.
It’s important to acknowledge that my perspective is just one of many, and I need to take them all with a grain of salt—including my own. We’re all tired, and we’ve all been through a lot.
Everyone can decide for themselves whether or not to wear a mask when they’re no longer mandated to do so by the government. For me, doing whatever I can to help keep the COVID-19 numbers down so we can finally put la pandémie behind us is more important than any minor hassle or inconvenience. If wearing a mask helps, I’m happy to wear one for as long as it takes. I believe it’s a small price to pay for everything we’ve lost.
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