Someone related a story to me about a family member who got infected and was shocked and felt betrayed because mask requirements had been lifted in the UK, so she really believed it was safe. I have often heard of people here in Pennsylvania saying things like “If it was so unsafe they’d be mandating masks again.” I’ve heard many people in the U.S. report that people assume it must be safe if the restaurants are open. Surely they would close places like restaurants again if it were a big risk. A podcaster recently reported, “the moment I let my guard down I got covid” and said she was disappointed in the local health authorities for telling people it was safe.
It’s not that people won’t mask, it’s that they think it’s not necessary because people trust that the government would tell them what to do if it’s not safe! These people have no idea that they need to call & write their representatives and demand information and safety measures. They have no idea that it was a Trump judge acting politically who struck away the transit mask requirements. They don’t know about the dark money funded ridiculous agitators showing up at school board meetings demanding a lack of safety in the classrooms.
People just hear authorities saying it’s fine, and then they find out the hard way.
It’s not fine. People need to be masked up for protection.