Unmasked... at long last
In this week's 'The Good Life' column, Gemma Good is thrilled that restrictions are set to ease, including the removal of the requirement for face coverings...
At long last, Dr Tony Holohan has announced it is time the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) conclude its work within the country. I say at long last, because it really feels like we are getting back to normality, at least some form of normality.
Yes, a lot of people are still coming down with Covid but they are testing themselves, isolating for five or seven days and then are fine. I know in my apartment, two of the girls isolated in one room together and they had a ball. They slept, watched Chicago Fire on Netflix and claimed they used the yoga mat once or twice, while myself and one of the other Brookfield girls cooked, shopped and cleaned for them. We even brought them cookies and tubs of Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream daily. In fairness, they would cough every so often, but even they agreed it was nothing to constrain them to the bed. Out of isolation now, they are showing no signs of long Covid and are getting back to normal, their week in isolation just a break in the semester.
As I talk about their experience fairly light-heartedly, I am aware that people have lost their lives to Covid and many people are still very anxious. While the news that Covid restrictions are due to ease at the end of the month thrills me, it may be a dreaded time for others.
The situation at the University of Limerick at the start of this month was almost like a mock easing of restrictions. On a complete whim and without any apparent consultation with staff and students, the university decided to scrap mandatory mask wearing on campus and in the college buildings. On the last day of January, this email came as a shock to many.
For a period of one week, students were not required to wear masks. Throughout that week, I witnessed about seven students not wearing a face-covering. Despite our complete rebelliousness and lack of concern for anybody except ourselves, nearly every student continued to wear a mask.
One week in, we received another email asking us to resume mask wearing, based on staff and student concerns. I do think this said an enormous amount about the student population. As someone who wears glasses, I was relieved that I no longer had to wear a mask in a lecture hall. My plan was to go to the lecture with my mask on but take it off once I was seated, if only to allow me to see the presentation clearly and not through a dense fog. However, when I realised that nobody else wanted to take their mask off, I opted to leave mine where it was out of respect for others.
On Thursday, a letter to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly from Dr Tony Holohan recommended that as, of Monday February 28, it should no longer be mandatory to wear a face covering, including on public transport, in shops and schools. Of course, like what happened in UL, if people still wish to wear a mask they can. I think it will be interesting to see what people do. Will they be glad to be rid of the muzzle or will they cling to the potentially lifesaving piece of equipment that we have become accustomed to wearing?
Interestingly for me, the letter from the CMO also details that there has been a slight increase in detected cases “particularly amongst young adults” and later details that there is a higher incidence rate in the 19-24 year old age group. He points out that cases among primary school aged children are decreasing, while cases among those in their early teens are stable. In other words, what I took from this paragraph, was stay away from college-aged young people, the super spreaders of Covid.
Bearing in mind that this group of people missed out on school and college graduations, eighteenths, twenty-firsts, debs and simply going to school or college, while the righteous leaders of our country headed off to dinner parties. And I’m not taking a stab at Boris here, it wasn’t so long ago since the Golfgate scandal dominated headlines.
Not one to drag up the past, but I have certainly noticed a trend among those higher up the chain of command. They seem to make decisions without actually consulting those on the ground. Personally, as I have pointed out, I am happy to see restrictions ease, but I am just one person. How do teachers feel going into a classroom teaching hundreds of students daily with no masks? Are those working in healthcare worried about not being able to cope with a spike in infections? Will the vulnerable and elderly be deterred from going out? Maybe asking for forgiveness in this case may not be so easy as asking for permission.
Watch this space!
* Gemma Good is from Killeshandra and a second year journalism student in University of Limerick.
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