In the almost two years since the 2019 Novel Coronavirus shook the world to its proverbial knees, I do not recall any official recommendation or requirement from any agency that a mask or cloth covering the nose and mouth must be worn while alone outdoors — but either the person in the photograph was in a public place and forgot to take it off; is prepared to be in a public place where distancing is not possible; or is simply being precautious and taking preventive measures by leaving it on all of the time.
Sunday Morning Photograph January 9 2022: Not Yet Emaskulated — But…
The year 2022 is still young; and hope springs eternal that although the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and its mutations will likely never be eliminated, we can learn to live with it with as minimum disruption and loss of life as possible…
…but one encouragingly optimistic statement — which is found at the conclusion of this official report from the International Journal of Infectious Diseases — gives a glimmer of hope that the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic may finally be showing signs of waning with the Omicron variant: “There are clear signs that case and admission rates in South-Africa may decline further over the next few weeks. If this pattern continues and is repeated globally, we are likely to see a complete decoupling of case and death rates suggesting that Omicron may be a harbinger of the end of the epidemic phase of the Covid pandemic ushering in its endemic phase.”
Final Boarding Call
Perhaps the time is coming soon when the longest two weeks of our lives will finally pass and no longer will we all be emaskulated — the misspelling is intentional — once again. I personally have been noticing how an increasing number of people in many restaurants, supermarkets, and other public areas are either no longer wearing masks or are wearing them sparingly — and that more and more establishments are recommending that noses and mouths should be covered rather than requiring that they must be covered.
This is simply an ongoing observation.
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Photograph ©2022 by Brian Cohen.
