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canyonwalkerI'm taking a quick hiatus from my Inland Empire travelog (last I left off I was in Moscow... Idaho!) to write about current events. A week ago I wrote about how the pandemic is coming back around, with elevated "hot spots" encompassing more than 2/3 of the US population. Well, now lockdowns are coming back around. Nothing's closing down yet, but mask requirements are coming back in an attempt to stave off having to close or limit occupancy at places of business. Seven counties in the SF Bay Area jointly announced today that masks will be required for everyone indoors at businesses, entertainment, etc.
It's not just the Bay Area. Elsewhere in California, Los Angeles County, home to 10 million people, mandated wearing masks indoors two weeks ago. And today the State of Louisiana moved to require masks, too.
It's not just states and counties, either. Numerous major companies announced today they will require all staff to wear masks in offices and stores. McDonald's went a step further, announcing that staff and customers must wear in all of its stores in areas of "high" or "substantial" transmission per CDC reports— which, again, is already 2/3 of the US population and is likely to grow in the coming weeks.
These significant changes are both heartening and disheartening at the same time. As a practical matter, though, they really don't change my habits. I've continued wearing my mask indoors at businesses over the past ~10 weeks even as mask mandates disappeared and guidelines loosened. How about you?
It's not just the Bay Area. Elsewhere in California, Los Angeles County, home to 10 million people, mandated wearing masks indoors two weeks ago. And today the State of Louisiana moved to require masks, too.
It's not just states and counties, either. Numerous major companies announced today they will require all staff to wear masks in offices and stores. McDonald's went a step further, announcing that staff and customers must wear in all of its stores in areas of "high" or "substantial" transmission per CDC reports— which, again, is already 2/3 of the US population and is likely to grow in the coming weeks.
These significant changes are both heartening and disheartening at the same time. As a practical matter, though, they really don't change my habits. I've continued wearing my mask indoors at businesses over the past ~10 weeks even as mask mandates disappeared and guidelines loosened. How about you?
