Wearing a mask is not

mandatory in most places here. You still need them in "high risk" settings like aged care and on public transport but elsewhere...?

I am still using masks. I will go on using them for a while yet. We are reaching another "Covid" peak - a winter one. People are getting both Covid and "the 'flu". Not everyone is bothering to get vaccinated against either or both.

I had to go into the Post Office yesterday and even the staff were no longer wearing masks. Yes, they are behind "glass" barriers now but is that really sufficient? 

I also picked up an item from the dry cleaners. The woman in there was not wearing a mask. I went past the dental surgery. It is possible to see the two reception people - neither was wearing a mask. The girl in the bookshop was wearing one but I had no need to go in there anyway. 

I prowled slowly on and observed. The vast majority of people were not wearing masks. It seems they no longer believe they are necessary. Mask wearing is being discarded along with the belief there is any need for a rapid antigen test.

The price of a box of disposable masks has dropped too.  A while back I bought a pack from a company in China. They are not quite as soft as the supermarket brand. They were also about the same price. The doctor who lives across the street thinks the Chinese ones are actually much better value though because of the way they are made and the way they fit. We agreed that mask wearing is more common in China. You see people on news footage there and they are wearing masks. Presumably this is out of a desire not to infect others or be infected.

Masks are not going to prevent all infection of course but they can reduce the rate of transmission. Reducing the rate of transmission is just as important. It can reduce the overall numbers of infection quite dramatically. That seems important to me.

During the recent election campaign the new government, then in opposition, was telling us how important it was to wear masks, to have access to the RATs, and get vaccinations up to date. Now they are in government masks are no longer compulsory in most settings. I haven't been on a train lately but a friend says even there most people are not using them despite the requirement to do so.  Access to RATs  is being reduced and the free tests for vulnerable groups is being cut altogether. Some of the vaccination hubs are being closed too. The locations of others may make it very difficult for some people to access them.

Yes, we have to "learn to live" with this virus but taking some basic precautions while it is still so prevalent is surely sensible?

I think I will be using a mask in some settings for a while yet. Perhaps I could draw smiley faces on them?