Opinion by Ryan Stelter • Thursday -Winnipeg Sun
All I want for Christmas is an N95 mask.
A wayward disposable face mask hangs on a street sign pole.
That is partly a joke as I will be taking some courses at the University of Manitoba next month so I likely will need some more masks as the school still has a mandate.
Interestingly, there are plenty of Canadians who would welcome a return to mask mandates, a new Angus Reid Institute poll shows.
I, like perhaps many of you, have not been so diligent in my mask-wearing as of late. Just 31% of Canadians polled say they are wearing a mask more than half of the time in public spaces.
Nearly a quarter of those who never wear masks say they would support a mask mandate if COVID-19 gets bad again while 65% of those who rarely but sometimes wear one also say they would accommodate a return to mandatory masking.
More than half of Manitobans polled (54%) would welcome a return to mandatory masking, which is a different outlook from July when only 49% would’ve liked to see a mask mandate.
Flu season has been a bad one, which has particularly hit children hard, coupled with COVID-19 still flying around it makes sense that there are those who would probably begrudgingly throw a mask back on if they become mandatory again.
This isn’t to say that we’re all eager to sling some N95s back over our ears, but I believe I speak for a lot of people when I say that I won’t enjoy it, but I’ll do it as it’s not the hardest thing in the world to do.
The science behind it makes sense and if wearing a mask can help prevent even one person — especially a child — from getting sick, I’d say it’s a success.
When it comes to vaccine passports, there aren’t that many who would welcome a reintroduction of those infamous QR codes. Only 21% support this while 42% say mask mandates nor vaccine passports should be reintroduced.
Not bringing back vaccine passports makes sense. It was helpful for a while and trust me, it didn’t create as much division as some will say. It turned restaurant employees into COVID-19 vaccine checkers and it also created a barrier for some who likely did get all of their shots. Whether it be access to technology or even identification.
It’s interesting to look back now at all the public health restrictions, which were in our lives not that long ago.
Perhaps it’s the fault of the government, or the media, but nearly half of Canadians aren’t thinking about COVID-19 that much anymore. Just last Christmas, we were bracing ourselves for the Omicron wave, which truly blew open the floodgates.
In Manitoba, 56% of people polled said they still think about the pandemic, which is higher than the national average.
Despite what this poll says, in all likelihood mask mandates won’t be reintroduced so you can breathe easy.
As it’s been since March 2022 when Manitoba dropped its restrictions — assess your own risk. You may not like that approach and wish the government did more, but this is the hand we’ve been dealt.
This means as we head into the holiday season filled with get-togethers and parties, stay home if you’re sick. It’s that simple. I believe the pandemic has created this idea that if you’re coughing up a lung but not testing positive for COVID, you’re fine. Nope, stay home.
This Christmas will look different than years past, there will be families and friends getting together for the first time in a long time. Be mindful of what everyone’s gone through and be compassionate.
rstelter@postmedia.com
Twitter: @steltsy94
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