It’s been over a month since New York Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted New York’s statewide indoor mask mandate. The mandate was initially imposed on Dec. 13, 2021, during the omicron wave.
PJ Media members may remember that in the two months the mandate was in effect, I never abided by it. There wasn’t a thing that could be done to force me to. In her infinite wisdom, Gov. Hochul put the responsibility of enforcing the mandate on counties—and most refused to enforce it, citing a lack of resources or objections to the policy. In case you don’t recall, I had no problems on the first day I went shopping in public when the mandate was in effect. Yes, most people were masked, but I was never asked to mask up or leave. I just did my business. Over the course of the mandate, I mostly carried as usual, with only two exceptions, one incident at a pharmacy and another at the checkout line in a supermarket. Overall, I would say that despite most people complying, they did so because they felt they had to, not out of fear of COVID-19.
When the mandate was lifted, most people kept wearing their masks, but it quickly dropped off. In a week, it went from 90% masked in public to probably 50%. As of right now, I would probably estimate that the masked rate ranges from 5%-10%, depending on where you go.
It’s a small minority.
The most interesting thing about it, though, is the higher frequency of improper mask-wearing. I can’t even count how many times I’ve seen people with a face mask on that didn’t cover their nose.
Sometimes I see someone wearing an N95 or KN95 mask. I pity them. I can only imagine how they’ve given in to fear and paranoia. I suspect if Dr. Fauci told them that a hazmat suit was the only surefire way to protect themselves from COVID, they’d do so gladly.
But my biggest pet peeve is maskless adults with masked children. It happens more than you would think—less so since the school mask mandate was lifted, but it’s something I still observe. Do these people not do any research? Do they not understand that kids are safer from COVID than adults or that the masks don’t do anything anyway?
I consider it a moral victory that I managed to get through this pandemic without getting my kid unnecessarily vaccinated. And that’s not for my son’s school’s lack of trying. There was a vaccination drive at the school, and the school, to its credit, would only vaccinate kids who had parental permission—which we did not give. When you hear stories of kids getting vaccinated against parents’ wishes, it’s easy to be paranoid that the same thing will happen to you. Thankfully it didn’t.
Despite all the fear-inducing headlines, COVID is less deadly to our kids than the seasonal flu. In fact, unvaccinated kids are at a lower risk of death from COVID than fully vaccinated adults of any age. Are these people unaware of this? They must be.
Nevertheless, in the weeks since the mandate was lifted, mask wearers have become a true minority, and that’s a good thing. Now, all we’ve got to do is get rid of Fauci.