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Face masks were the most visible sign of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some still wear them. For others, it is a relic.
Publication date:
April 17, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 6 minutes reading Some fans wear masks and others not during the London Knights match against Guelph Storm at Budweiser Gardens in London on Sunday, April 10, 2022 (Derek Ruttan / The London Free Press)
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Face masks, the most visible symbol of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first two years, have gone from mandatory to perhaps in most public places indoors – even amid the sixth wave of the virus – since Ontario resigned last month. This has left a mixture of disguise and non-disguise, and many Londoners are not yet ready to throw them away. Health reporter Jennifer Beaman took a sample of the rainfall in several places.
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Stay safe
Kayla Gibbens, owner of Uber Cool Stuff on Dundas Street, is shown in this 2021 file photo (Mike Hanson / The London Free Press)
Do you remember the first days of the pandemic, when safely distant, masked customers lined up in front of grocery and other stores with limited capacity?
Those days are long gone, but many retailers are still cautious about keeping themselves and their staff in disguise for weeks after Ontario raised its disguise requirement.
Most customers who stop by Über Cool Stuff in central London, a Dundas Street news store, still choose to wear face covers to prevent the spread of COVID-19, said owner Kayla Gibbens.
“It got better than I expected,” said Gibbens, who worried there might be an uproar between masked and unmasked people.
“Perhaps one in 20 people has been identified. I think a lot of people are still cautious. “
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As COVID and other respiratory viruses circulate, Gibbens remains masked for now.
“I do not accept my health advice from politicians, but from (public) healthcare. They say you wear a mask, “she said.
Retailers and workers in Ontario, exposed to large groups of people in their stores for long hours each day while most people work from home, were among the first Ontario residents to see disguise become critical during the pandemic.
When Ontario raised the demand for masks for most public places indoors, Gibbens said she had discussed the mask situation with her staff, who are on board the masks for the next short time.
The lifting of the province’s capacity limits for retail stores on March 14 did not make much of a difference for Über Cool Stuff, she said.
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She still ensures that things in the store don’t get too crowded, but added that she is happy that she no longer has to keep track of the number of customers.
Passport for protection
Mark Serr owns the Morrissey House on Dundas Street, near the center. (Mike Hanson / The London Free Press)
Morrissey House, a popular restaurant and bar on Dundas Street, was left with vaccination passports even after Ontario dropped its requirement for proof of vaccination to enter such facilities on March 1. Most customers have not blinked, owner Mark Ser said.
“We really get the weird guy wondering why we’re still doing it, but mostly as a dad’s joke,” he said in an email. “. . . Just a handful of people from Toronto and Florida. . . they refused and left. “
When it comes to masks, The Morrissey House asks all employees to continue wearing them, he said. After two years of blocking and other pandemic challenges and masks that are no longer optional for customers, he wants his staff to be as safe as possible.
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“The way our staff is, we can’t afford staff who need five days of quarantine,” he said.
The number of patrons who choose to disguise themselves at The Morrissey House has shrunk from near-universal disguise when the term ends, Sir said.
“I think it’s less than a quarter now, but people definitely know we’re wearing them and they’ll ask if they have to, if we’d like to do it, or they’ll just do it automatically when they come in,” he said.
“Respectful” without requirements
Adam Winkler is the owner of Wink’s Eatery in London. It is shown on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 (Derek Ruttan / The London Free Press)
Richmond Row Wink’s bar and restaurant followed the example of the province and removed the requirements for proof of vaccination and mandatory disguise, said owner Adam Winkler.
“It’s about 50-50 of customers who choose to wear a mask. During the day we see more masks. We don’t see too much at night, “Winkler said. “Everyone was very respectful.”
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After two years of pandemic waves forcing restaurants to switch from dinner to home-cooked food, things are back to normal before the pandemic, Winkler said with relief.
“The support for local shopping and dining has been phenomenal. We have a lot of new customers coming, “he said.
“They tried us when we were just home and delivery, and now they show their faces inside.”
Satisfied with the hybrid approach
Some fans wear masks and others not during the London Knights game against Guelph Storm at the Budweiser Gardens in London on Sunday, April 10, 2022 (Derek Ruttan / The London Free Press)
Home to London’s largest indoor crowds, Budweiser Gardens takes a hybrid approach to masks and proof of vaccination, maintaining the requirements for shows or performers who request it.
For non-mandatory events, including London Knights hockey games, it’s 50-50 between masked and unmasked visitors, said Brian All, general manager of the center’s arena.
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At first, several expressed disappointment that the center’s arena did not require proof of vaccination and masks for all events, All said, but most visitors agreed with the loose rules.
“I think people are just happy to be able to come back and see live entertainment again,” he said. “People who want to wear masks are, and people who don’t want to are not.”
All said he was unaware of the tension between unmasked and masked patrons.
For events where masks are not mandatory, it depends on the staff whether they will wear them or not, said All. “I would say that 70 to 80 percent still wear masks for staff who deal with the public.
After two years of continuous blockades and attendance restrictions, the province raised its capacity ceiling for major venues and sporting events on March 14th.
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“It’s good to have full crowds again,” All said, adding that the atmosphere at the gates before the show was really positive. “People are just happy to be back and we are also happy to be back.”
jbieman@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/JenatLFPress
- Face masks became mandatory in certain places in the London area, such as public transport, in the summer of 2020. This autumn, broader provincial mandates for indoor masks in public places followed.
- Ontario raised its demand for masks for most public places indoors, including retailers, restaurants and schools, on March 21, leaving people to wear them or not.
- At the time, the province’s chief medical officer called on Ontario residents to make their own risk assessments when deciding whether to continue wearing a mask.
- Ontario still requires face masks on public transportation, health care, and long-term care and retirement homes.
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Some buyers wear masks, while others do not at the White Oaks Mall in London on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 (Derek Ruttan / The London Free Press)
- Some institutions, including Western University, maintain the rules for masks at least until the end of the school year. Others, including hospitals in Ontario such as the London Center for Health Sciences, said they would stick to disguise “indefinitely”.
- The Middlesex-London Health Unit called on residents to continue to disguise themselves until later in the spring, as COVID-19 continues to spread in the community.
- Although the number of COVID cases is increasing, the chief public health doctor is not considering using his powers under the Health Protection and Promotion Act to make masks mandatory in London and Middlesex County.
- Ontario’s chief physician, Kieran Moore, strongly recommended on Monday that people continue to wear tight-fitting three-layer masks indoors in public. Ontario is “actively reviewing” plans to end remaining masks at the end of the month.
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We apologize, but this video failed to load.
Londoners have generally followed the pandemic’s restrictions, including mandatory public camouflage, the city’s chief of staff said.
Law enforcement officials have issued 44 tickets and 204 warnings under the Ontario Reopening Act, which gives the government of Progressive Conservatives the legal power to impose many pandemic restrictions from January 2021, said city bystands chief Orest Catholic.
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