As the world struggles to 'return to normal', Saskatchewan has decided to remove the mask mandate from all SHA (Sask Health Authority) facilities... which, honestly, kind of surprises me.
I was all for the decision to unmask as individuals in public... but, hospitals? Of all the places you'd think a mask would make sense, it's a hospital! This move feels like a politically motivated statement from the extremely conservative Sask Party government, rather than something guided by sense and thought.
We were among the first provinces to unmask - way back in July of 2021 - thanks largely to our relatively small population density, low numbers of infections, and high percentage of vaccination. It went... overall... fairly well, and over the year that followed while a lot of the folks I know did end up catching COVID - it was fairly mild in all cases. The virus by 2022 seems to have become less problematic. Fewer hospitalizations, fewer deaths, fewer instances of Long Covid.
Still, it was one of the worst sicknesses I've had in my adult life when we caught it.
Since the lifting of restrictions mid-2021, much of the day-to-day life here has gone more-or-less back to normal. Movie theatres, malls, parks, etc. all reopened and have been enjoyed. Group events are slowly becoming more common again, and even though some have been cancelled... this time around it's not because of COVID - but rather because of inflation and signup issues in the case of the cancelled Taste of Saskatchewan event.
All this is to say, for most of us life has gone back to pre-covid normality. Which is good, and healthy!
But where I didn't expect a return to pre-COVID decisions was at the hospital. You know, that place that folks go to get surgeries and deal with a variety of sicknesses. In a setting where immune systems are often compromised, and there's a ton of traffic... does it not make sense to retain masks? It's one of the only places in the province that still required masks, and it seemed like a darn good idea to me. Cold and flu spread less easily while masks are being worn and hand-washing is done. So, why are we choosing to remove masks in one of the only spots that we should probably have been masking in to begin with!?
I just don't get it. I'm not a doctor, so maybe my concerns are coming from my lack of knowledge, but it just feels weird to me. I personally still toss on a mask if I know I'm fighting a cold but have to go out. It's just polite.