I guess the pandemic really IS over!

[Road Runner]

I had a doctor's appointment this morning.  Even though the phone message I got yesterday confirming my appointment said to wear a mask,  no one in the doctor's office was wearing a mask.  Of the half dozen or so patients I saw, only one was wearing a mask besides me.  If the doctor and the doctor's office employees are unmasked, then it must be over!   

[jsharr ★]

[Road Runner]

That's ^^^ exactly how I felt!   

[maddmaxx ★]

Wear the mask.

[Bikeguy]

I went to the dentist office a few weeks ago.    I figured if they cared, they would tell me to wear a mask.   No masks.  

Then again... the dental hygienist wore a mask.  But she wore masks before the virus.

[Kirby]

I went to a dentist last week and not only did they still require masks until you were in the dentist chair, they asked you to call from the parking lot to make sure the waiting room wasn't crowded.

[Road Runner]

3 minutes ago, Kirby said:

I went to a dentist last week and not only did they still require masks until you were in the dentist chair, they asked you to call from the parking lot to make sure the waiting room wasn't crowded.

Your dentist must be very old.  

 

[Airehead]

It makes sense to always wear a mask in a doctor’s office. Pandemic or no pandemic. 

[maddmaxx ★]

4 minutes ago, Kirby said:

I went to a dentist last week and not only did they still require masks until you were in the dentist chair, they asked you to call from the parking lot to make sure the waiting room wasn't crowded.

Same here.  My dentist and techs will be wearing masks and face shields because the patients can't while being worked on.

[maddmaxx ★]

Just now, Road Runner said:

Your dentist must be very old.  

 

Or smart.

[Wilbur ★]

I stayed at a Marriott last night that was still operating in pandemic mode.  It was a proper pain in the ass.   The Canadian government is dropping tax and testing requirements to enter the country.  Masks are still required in flight in Canadian airspace. 

[shootingstar]

I would not be comfortable without a mask at an airport nor inside a plane.... in the plane one is surrounded by so many strangers from all over the world... I pass through Canadian large, city international airports most of the time even when I take only domestic flights during a yr.  I rarely pass through domestic-only smaller airports and even, there, others have come from connecting international flights. 

Even so, there is a population out there that has refused to vax.

I want to believe my vaccination for me is robust...within certain time frames.  At the same time, I'm getting older, not younger, despite a very good health status.

[maddmaxx ★]

Covid has become too inconvenient to take seriously anymore.

[Wilbur ★]

2 hours ago, shootingstar said:

I would not be comfortable without a mask at an airport nor inside a plane.... in the plane one is surrounded by so many strangers from all over the world... I pass through Canadian large, city international airports most of the time even when I take only domestic flights during a yr.  I rarely pass through domestic-only smaller airports and even, there, others have come from connecting international flights. 

Even so, there is a population out there that has refused to vax.

I want to believe my vaccination for me is robust...within certain time frames.  At the same time, I'm getting older, not younger, despite a very good health status.

Calgary to Hamilton or Abbotsford reduces contact considerably. 

[Wilbur ★]

1 hour ago, maddmaxx said:

Covid has become too inconvenient to take seriously anymore.

I have no choice but to face it and nobody in the US is masking anymore.  That explains my exposure to it twice.  Even hotels are back to normal with minimal cleaning. 

[shootingstar]

30 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

I have no choice but to face it and nobody in the US is masking anymore.  That explains my exposure to it twice.  Even hotels are back to normal with minimal cleaning. 

Guess we'll see what happens in general in terms of infection rates this winter...if any health authority will even know accurately....except the worst, when if folks end up hospital. 

Look, a good friend living in Burlington got covid in late Aug. That's why I cancelled my trip from Toronto airport to see her and stay overnight at her place.  Her 84 yrs. old father, some other family members got it.....all from her niece's wedding. 

Everyone who was infected, in her family was vaxxed with latest shot.

So covid is STILL around this late in our corner of CAnada. That's the closest personal story I know that affected my plans directly.

Anyway, I got a bunch of free covid test kits from Toronto siblings.  

[ChrisL]

2 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

Covid has become too inconvenient to take seriously anymore.

I see your point but… I get that people are still dying but for the masses, Covid really has become an “inconvenience” more so than anything else.

Do we need to have the same Covid protocols now that we had in 2020? 

[shootingstar]

1 hour ago, Wilbur said:

Calgary to Hamilton or Abbotsford reduces contact considerably. 

Except I don't take WestJet.  Too long-winded to get into Toronto or VAncouver. meaning yet ANOTHER commuter trip. I bet the Abbotsford airport isn't super connected to West Coast express train... that train barely runs more the twice/day to /from VAncouver.  If there will be next time to VAncouver, it might be years down road if a nephew gets married since her family is in Vancouver.  Or 2nd nephew has GF with family in Richmond.  How convenient .... 

[Prophet Zacharia]

5 hours ago, ChrisL said:

Do we need to have the same Covid protocols now that we had in 2020? 

No, we don’t need to lockdown. But the pendulum has swung so far the other way that most people seem to want to do NOTHING anymore to acknowledge COVID’s still present or still potentially more dangerous than the flu (I’ve heard this comparison gain steam again). 
 

I think my dentist’s office and my workplace office are the only areas I’ve seen any significant mask use any longer. 

[maddmaxx ★]

7 hours ago, ChrisL said:

I see your point but… I get that people are still dying but for the masses, Covid really has become an “inconvenience” more so than anything else.

Do we need to have the same Covid protocols now that we had in 2020? 

Do we still need to kill about 500 a day so we can go to the movies without a mask.  Covid is still one of the top causes of death in the US.  Why have we decided that we don't care.

 

[Wilbur ★]

7 hours ago, shootingstar said:

Except I don't take WestJet. 

OK.  

[team scooter]

Covid is still making the rounds here. We've recently went for some tests at few local hospitals, masks were still mandatory. At work, a few people caught it and were off for over a week. They all came back to work ten pounds (on average) lighter.  

[ChrisL]

2 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

Do we still need to kill about 500 a day so we can go to the movies without a mask.  Covid is still one of the top causes of death in the US.  Why have we decided that we don't care.

 

Because the infection rates & deaths are at a point that it’s not scaring anyone anymore.  

[Razors Edge ★]

4 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

Because the infection rates & deaths are at a point that it’s not scaring anyone anymore.  

Deaths (and some degree of long term impacts from COVID) are still worrisome, for sure.  BUT - with vaccines and new treatments coupled with a less deadly series of variants - it seems to most folks that the more drastic options - mass shutdowns, long term quarantines, blanket travel restrictions - are not reasonable at this time.  Masking in public is - at least where I am and you are - completely acceptable still, and plenty of folks do it whether to protect themselves or to protect others.  Masking on a plane still seems like a very good idea - post-COVID era as well.  A comfortable N95 seems like a useful and reasonable precaution for any flight, and I will generally be wearing one when I fly.

[MickinMD ★]

No. Your doctor's office must be foolish. Where's the best place to catch colds, flu, COVID, etc.?  In a medical establishment!

My doctor's, dentist's, and ophthalmologist's office still require masks on patients and staff.

The USA had a 7-day rolling avg. of 223 COVID deaths/day and 11,517 cases/day on July 8, 2021, when vaccination was still in its beginning stages.  We have 406 deaths and 47.472 reported cases now and 30 states are not reporting cases anymore!

Of course, 76% of deaths and 90% of hospitalizations are among the unvaxxed, so it's almost over for the vaccinated.

Here's my hot-looking ophthalmologist who I never see anymore without a mask.  This is who will do my cataract surgery when they get bad enough to interfere with my vision sometime in this decade.

 

[maddmaxx ★]

2 hours ago, MickinMD said:

No. Your doctor's office must be foolish. Where's the best place to catch colds, flu, COVID, etc.?  In a medical establishment!

My doctor's, dentist's, and ophthalmologist's office still require masks on patients and staff.

The USA had a 7-day rolling avg. of 223 COVID deaths/day and 11,517 cases/day on July 8, 2021, when vaccination was still in its beginning stages.  We have 406 deaths and 47.472 reported cases now and 30 states are not reporting cases anymore!

Of course, 76% of deaths and 90% of hospitalizations are among the unvaxxed, so it's almost over for the vaccinated.

Here's my hot-looking ophthalmologist who I never see anymore without a mask.  This is who will do my cataract surgery when they get bad enough to interfere with my vision sometime in this decade.

 

Did you notice that the unvaxed and the unmasked are the one's not caring the most.  It seems fitting that they should make up the majority of cases and deaths.

[Kzoo]

19 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Did you notice that the overweight and the obese are the one's not caring the most.  It seems fitting that they should make up the majority of cases and deaths.

Did you notice that those with cardiac issues are the one's not caring the most.  It seems fitting that they should make up the majority of cases and deaths.

Did you notice that those with pulmonary issues are the one's not caring the most.  It seems fitting that they should make up the majority of cases and deaths.

 

Sorry, my bad.  I forgot you were talking about Covid.

[maddmaxx ★]

27 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

Sorry, my bad.  I forgot you were talking about Covid.

2.4

[Kzoo]

18 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

2.4

Expected