What's your current mask etiquette?

Most of the my main haunts don't have signs up regarding mask wearing anymore, but most customers are still wearing them. Usually the employees wear them. For the most part, I will wear a mask when I go in.

But it's kind of confusing, to be honest.

What about you folks. How are you handling this transition period?

Indoor public places like stores and offices I wear a mask

Outdoors I generally do not

If the employees are wearing them I'll put mine on.

I am still wearing one for/at work, so I’ve not gotten out of the habit yet. I’m still way more comfortable wearing one indoors at a store or bank or other business, but that could be because - in part - I know of two people currently hospitalized, a pair of anti-vaxxers who were thrilled when restrictions were lifted and began going around without them. So that convinced me that many without masks have not had shots.  

i still wear a mask when I am in stores.  its not confusing.  i'm not concerned about others choosing to not wear it.  that is their legal choice.  a small number of recent deaths have been vaccinated people and others seriously ill. why take an un necessary chance.  i'm not comfortable in crowds especially indoors and wouldn't consider an indoor event  at a large venue.  i do stand 2-3 feet from people I know outdoors without a mask for short periods.

what bothers me is that people that insist on crowding strangers when its not necessary.  Twice I have been in line at a store with just 1 customer/pair behind me and they insisted practically standing on top of me.  that is rude...was rude even before covid. unless you really need to squeeze in a lot of people....leave some space, not necessarily 6 feet, but maybe 3.

i will feel more comfortable 3 months after toddlers and up are eligible for the vaccine.  they said we hit 70% of adults, but that includes 12-17 year olds.

and you can't depend on unvaccinated people being masked or even trying to cover a cough......

Indoors I wear a mask when I am around others not in my pod (immediate family) unless I am eating.  Outdoors I carry one with me and wear it in crowded conditions and when people I know are unvaccinated, such as any children under 12 years of age, are within eyesight.  

Have not been wearing it outdoors.  Will wear indoors when location requires it or place seems crowded (though I am still not indoors much).  I'm not concerned about large indoor spaces that are uncrowded like a library or a big box store.  

The progress of the Delta variant, and any corresponding change in the numbers here, may make me more cautious.  The increase in cases in Israel and the UK worries me.

As others have noted, I wear in stores, etc.  It varies when I'm at my two regular volunteering organizations. Sometimes I'm working with people I've known for years and am comfortable they've been vaccinated. In that case no masking is an easy choice for all of us whether indoors or not. When I'm working with folks I don't know it can be more complicated. Some times the group will come to a consensus decision (example: all mature adults that are vaccinated decide no masks; other times, group is mixed ages and everyone just leaves masks on; whenever we work with clients we require everyone to be masked--clients and volunteers--out of respect for each other. ). 

We recently traveled to a major city and were pleasantly surprised at the ease of everyone masking indoors and on public transportation. We also spent an afternoon in a major art museum where we were amazed at how many people were not masking. Most of the unmasked appeared to be affluent...a bit of entitlement perhaps?

nohero said:

If the employees are wearing them I'll put mine on.

 this has pretty much been my rule of thumb.  And there are some places like Dunkin', that continue to request visitors wear a mask.  So I try to have one with me all the time.

I keep one in each car and I try to remember to carry one with me (purse or pocket) whenever I leave home.  I generally put it on anytime I go inside until/unless specifically invited not to do so (such as at the home of someone who I know well.) I have rarely had to put it on outdoors but would do so if meeting or passing people in a confined space on the sidewalk or similar.  I also put on a mask when answering the door to someone outside of my family and then there's usually a 2-way conversation about whether or not we've been vaccinated and/or are comfortable going maskless.  I am fully vaccinated so if someone coming into my house says that they have been vaccinated I am OK with taking it off then.

ml1 said:

nohero said:

If the employees are wearing them I'll put mine on.

 this has pretty much been my rule of thumb.  And there are some places like Dunkin', that continue to request visitors wear a mask.  So I try to have one with me all the time.

 Me too.

I only wear a mask if the sign at the door says to wear one. I do wear mask at checkout to be respectful of the employee at the register . in the store I don't. At work I don't we are not required if vaccinated and going in 3 days a week till labor day.   

i brought my car in for tire repair at a chain store.  there was a young woman in the waiting room without a mask and very little ventilation (just a wide door at the end).  It made me uncomfortable needing to be around her for an extended time.  It was too hot to really stay outside for long.  I tried to walk around the retail part of the store.  But i really needed to sit most of the time.  when its a situation where you are around others that HAVE TO be there for an extended time, you really should consider wearing a mask.  My car needed repair.  its not like choosing to go to a basketball game and knowing you will be in a crowd that is not required to wear a mask.  I didn't make an issue of it since the rules say she is not required.  But people need to show consideration of others at time.....just like standing on the heels of someone in line is rude even though there is no 6 foot rule anymore.  something like a grocery store is different where you are moving around and not stuck in a small area with the same people for an extended time.  that is not as concerning when others don't where a mask.  I did take mine off in a store yesterday.  The AC wasn't cool enough and it was very hot  and not crowded.  i was rarely near anyone else.

As more of us get fully vaccinated and as hospitalization/death rates decrease in our area, more and more of us are becoming more relaxed when it comes to social distancing and wearing a face covering in public spaces.  The transition is easier for some of us than others and most of us understand this.  If you calmly explained that you are uncomfortable around people who are not wearing a face covering (assuming this person had one with her), she would likely have put one on.  Most of understand the trepidation some of us still feel.  

jmitw said:

i brought my car in for tire repair at a chain store.  there was a young woman in the waiting room without a mask and very little ventilation (just a wide door at the end).  It made me uncomfortable needing to be around her for an extended time.  It was too hot to really stay outside for long.  I tried to walk around the retail part of the store.  But i really needed to sit most of the time.  when its a situation where you are around others that HAVE TO be there for an extended time, you really should consider wearing a mask.  My car needed repair.  its not like choosing to go to a basketball game and knowing you will be in a crowd that is not required to wear a mask.  I didn't make an issue of it since the rules say she is not required.  But people needs to show consideration of others at time.....just like standing on the heels of someone in line is rude even though there is no 6 foot rule anymore.  something like a grocery store is different where you are moving around and not stuck in a small area with the same people for an extended time.  that is not as concerning when others don't where a mask.  I did take mine off in a store yesterday.  The AC wasn't cool enough and it was very hot  and not crowded.  i was rarely near anyone else.

 I had a similar situation and the person that drove my car back to me wasn't wearing a mask and had the windows closed. This was about 2 weeks ago. We were just in Colonial Williamsburg and went to a bounce house one day for a couple of hours. My family and one other family, plus some of the employees, were the only ones wearing masks. None of the kids had masks on. My entire family wears masks if we're inside and my kids generally will wear masks outside unless there's nobody around.

joan_crystal said:

As more of us get fully vaccinated and as hospitalization/death rates decrease in our area, more and more of us are becoming more relaxed when it comes to social distancing and wearing a face covering in public spaces.  The transition is easier for some of us than others and most of us understand this.  If you calmly explained that you are uncomfortable around people who are not wearing a face covering (assuming this person had one with her), she would likely have put one on.  Most of understand the trepidation some of us still feel.  

 what world are you living in, people have been physically attacked for politely asking when it was legally required.  she ended up having to leave her car overnight...turns out her mask was in her car, she didn't even bring it inside with her. she had to go to the service bay to get her mask and another bag of belongings.

I didn't dare say anything when it was legally required.  I was at the Burlington on Morris Ave/22 Union and an idiot had his mask down talking on his phone standing at the entrance to the check out line....so if you wanted to buy anything you couldn't avoid him.  I got in the line far enough ahead, but then the line grew to where people were very close to him..employees say it and said nothing.

jmitw said:

joan_crystal said:

As more of us get fully vaccinated and as hospitalization/death rates decrease in our area, more and more of us are becoming more relaxed when it comes to social distancing and wearing a face covering in public spaces.  The transition is easier for some of us than others and most of us understand this.  If you calmly explained that you are uncomfortable around people who are not wearing a face covering (assuming this person had one with her), she would likely have put one on.  Most of understand the trepidation some of us still feel.  

 what world are you living in, people have been physically attacked for politely asking when it was legally required.  she ended up having to leave her car overnight...turns out her mask was in her car, she didn't even bring it inside with her. she had to go to the service bay to get her mask and another bag of belongings.

I didn't dare say anything when it was legally required.  I was at the Burlington on Morris Ave/22 Union and an idiot had his mask down talking on his phone standing at the entrance to the check out line....so if you wanted to buy anything you couldn't avoid him.  I got in the line far enough ahead, but then the line grew to where people were very close to him..employees say it and said nothing.

 yeah, I would surely hesitate before asking someone to put on a mask. It's 50-50 whether they'll be reasonable or a psycho.

It could be that we do live in very different worlds.  I had excellent success asking people to put on a face covering if they had one with them.  My grey hair and gentle manner may have had something to do with this.  One or two replied calmly that it wasn't necessary to do so for various reasons.  None came close to going ballistic.  This was back during the worst of the pandemic and extended until the mask policy was lifted by the state.  I don't do that any more because I am now fully vaccinated; the  rate of infection has dropped markedly; the number of new cases locally is much lower than it was a few months ago;  and very few of those infected are dying now.   Still, it has been baby steps in terms of my leaving the house and participating in any gatherings. 

Given the spread of the delta and delta plus variants, I think I'll probably be wearing my mask more frequently inside, even when not required. Not to protect myself, but because it looks like even vaccinated people can be spreaders (even as the vaccine dramatically reduces your odds of getting ill) and I don't want to inadvertently be part of a transmission chain. Also, if people see me wearing a mask they may be more inclined to wear one (and so I suppose mask wearing does become a roundabout way of protecting myself).

I'm generally still wearing a mask anytime I'm indoors in public, such as in stores - however, my brother visited on Sunday and we went bowling.  Nobody except the alley staff was wearing masks and we didn't either.  This didn't particularly bother me because the place was very well ventilated and we really weren't within six feet of other people except in passing (and we are both fully vaccinated). 

I don't wear a mask outdoors anymore, though I usually have one with me and would put it on if I found myself in a crowd.

The WHO recommendation is for vaccinated people to continue to wear masks, while the CDC says it isn't necessary.  It will be interesting to see whether or how long the discrepancy continues.  I'm mostly wearing masks indoors but outdoors it stays in my pocket most of the time.  I do notice that there is far more mask wearing in/near SOMA than in some areas a bit farther away.  I was in Florham Park tonight for a haircut and then to pickup takeout supper and there were very few masks to be seen in either business.  The burger shop had a sign in the window that said masks are required, but nobody except me and my spouse were wearing them (employees or customers.)  

Most everyone still wears a mask in Hong Kong, where we average 2-3 new cases a day that are caught at airport arrivals; they are brought to quarantine hotels by medical staff. I wear a mask everywhere in HK except at home and at the Foreign Correspondents Club, where staff has been mandated to vaccinate and wear masks. 

dave said:

Most everyone still wears a mask in Hong Kong, where we average 2-3 new cases a day that are caught at airport arrivals; they are brought to quarantine hotels by medical staff. I wear a mask everywhere in HK except at home and at the Foreign Correspondents Club, where staff has been mandated to vaccinate and wear masks. 

 But but but

communism jyna sheeple

pretty much maskless-unless a store( or someone asks for it) requires it.  I have no problems wearing one if I have to.

I'm sticking with mask wearing when indoors at stores/malls etc. I was down in South NJ the other day in a Target and I was one of maybe 10% of patrons wearing a mask.

The Delta thing is making me more cautious.  Israel had 1250 new cases yesterday, which is about 100 times more than their best days, pre-Delta.  Cases are on the rise here too.  The big question is the extent and seriousness of breakthrough cases.  The picture is not clear yet.

Indeed. 

I am personally acquainted with someone who is suffering a breakthrough infection. She's fully valued but tested positive earlier this week.

I drive a lot for work and make use of the Turnpike/Parkway rest stops almost every day. Hardly anyone wears a mask in there either. Even though I'm vaccinated I still put on a mask. Seems like just the right place to get exposed.

It appears to me that mask-wearing seems to be largely driven by mandate, and asking people who are unvaccinated to go by the honor system is not a viable strategy.

I'm going to be going up to northern Michigan for vacation in a week. 70% Trump country. I wonder what mask wearing will be like up there? Vax rates are about 55% though, which is not too bad.

drummerboy said:

I'm going to be going up to northern Michigan for vacation in a week. 70% Trump country. I wonder what mask wearing will be like up there? Vax rates are about 55% though, which is not too bad.

 I was talking with my friend who lives in mid-Michigan earlier this week. She was surprised at my report of high masking levels in our local grocery stores.