We can travel on planes and trains without wearing masks. It’s a scary but necessary step in the world of COVID.
Last fall, I took a plane for the first time since the COVID pandemic began in March 2020. My husband I and were flying from Minneapolis to Reagan National in DC to attend a wedding. Traveling by plane meant we had to wear masks in the airport and on the plane. It wasn’t the end of the world to wear the mask.
Having said this, it is past time to drop the mandate of wearing masks on public transportation.
A judge voided the extension of the federal mask mandate and the administration will challenge the ruling. What was once a wise precaution has become a way to show that you “care” or not.
During the height of the pandemic, especially before vaccines, it made a lot of sense for people to wear masks on public transportation. The stories of people engaging in fights over putting on a mask just seemed silly to me.
But as more and more of us are vaccinated and as COVID feels less dangerous than it used to be, it made less and less sense to wear masks anywhere. None of this means it doesn’t cross your mind that someone in a crowd might have the virus, that is a probability. But we are at a point in the pandemic where we have to move beyond our concerns and fear and leave the emergency period behind.
NeoMugwump 