BC and Alberta lifted pandemic restrictions July 1 and Saskatchewan followed July 11, yet many in the two provinces are still wearing masks..The Western Standard solicited feedback from citizens free from lockdowns for the first time in 16 months. In Victoria, IBM employee Daniel Kersey says most faces remain shrouded..“Most places I have been to have signs that say it’s recommended to wear a mask while shopping. Other small businesses ask that everyone still wear a mask and then others have taken down the mask sign altogether. BC Transit and other public transportation are still requiring masks,” Kersey said..“Most behind-the-counter workers still wear masks. I’ll see maybe two to four people in a store of fifty to eighty not wearing one. Not too many walking around outdoors with masks on anymore.”.Mariola Holst reported the same from Vancouver..“Home Depot, Costco, Rona in Vancouver full of masked people, including all the staff. I wanted to scream!” Holst said..Others in the greater Vancouver area had similar observations, including 79-year-old Esther Lindberg..“Too many are still wearing masks in Langley, some out of fear of what others will do to them if they take it off. I’m again free to ride buses, shop, and enter my building without one. Free to breathe at last!” she said..In Burnaby, Pascal Therien said three-quarters of people at her gym still wear masks, “most of them fully vaccinated. I can see plenty wearing it outside and in their car. Tons of fears still, I would assume. (mainstream media) is doing a great job.”.Laura Gebbinck says people are playing it safe where she lives also..“Chilliwack is still wearing masks at banks, malls, grocery and drug stores so far. I have seen only a couple of tellers without a mask. Arrows still on the floor at grocery, dots on floor removed at credit union, but only two employees without masks.”.Others, including some in the Okanagan Valley, have fully embraced their freedom..“Love it! Can breathe and inhale fresh air and see people’s faces again! More and more are no longer wearing masks except for salespeople and cashiers etc,” said Karen Cowling in West Kelowna..“Here in Kelowna – K-Town – people are out and about and set free. It is freedom, freedom, freedom at last!” said Danny Richardson..The vibe hasn’t changed much in Calgary, according to D.A. Kulscar..“Still feels like pandemic and in some ways worse thanks to the Calgary Stampede forcing people to show proof of vaccines or take a rapid Covid test in order to enter Nashville North tent on the Stampede grounds,” Kulscar said..Alberta’s capital presents differently than the towns around it..“Everything is back to normal in Edmonton, even the traffic. Still about 75% to 80% of people wearing masks,” said Jason O’ Brien..“In Sherwood Park and the outer communities, far less people are wearing masks. In church hardly anyone is wearing masks in my town,” reports Wendy Statters..Scott Broad says the new normal looks like the old in Spruce Grove. “My life is pretty much normal, has been for months. Was at grocery store this morning, saw one person with a mask. Had breakfast in a full restaurant.”.Masks cause some tensions in both provinces. In Langford, B.C., Sandra Millington said at grocery and clothing stores, “80% [are] still masked, [and there’s] public scorn at those who are free.” .In Alberta, Angela Thompson dislikes covered faces..“People still wearing masks in Lethbridge. They have become a badge of dishonor. Hoping they will snap out of this malaise,” Thompson said..Before the 11th, Jennifer King said, “Lloydminster is all over the place. Places that fall under Sask. health still wear masks and places that fall under Alberta health don’t. Tons of people wear masks in their cars,” she laughs. .“I haven’t been wearing a mask for the last four months.”.Harding is a Western Standard correspondent based in Saskatchewan.
