Fine, Let’s Talk about Masks Again.
You’re tired of the subject. I’m tired of the subject. We’ll all live perfectly happy lives if we never have to discuss it again.
However, some aspects of the conversation have changed in recent days. So, we need to talk about masks once more.
What Just Happened
I could reference one of several different updates with the above header. Suffice to say that the mask conversation is evolving rapidly.
I try to leave politics out of this conversation, but all Americans know the deal by now.
One political party errs on the side of caution and follows guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The other dislikes Dr. Fauci and believes the government shouldn’t tell people whether they should wear masks.
There’s no point in relitigating any of this. It’s almost over anyway, and we’d all like to move on.
Still, we need this information as a baseline to identify significant changes in mask guidelines.
To wit, you may recall that former Disney CEO Bob Iger threw a tantrum when California’s Governor refused to allow Disneyland to reopen.
California’s health department enacted some of the most stringent anti-COVID policies in the country.
Please keep that fact in mind as I tell you something shocking. California is allowing its indoor mask requirement to expire on February 15th.
Yes, that’s only a couple of days from now. No, nobody saw this development coming.
After acting cautiously for so long, California has suddenly looked at the data and decided indoor masking isn’t needed.
Obviously, this decision could reset in the event of another outbreak. Nobody likes to think in those terms, but we also never saw Omicron coming.
COVID-19’s most dangerous trait is its resilience and ability to modify on the fly. That’s why we’ve had the original variant plus Delta and Omicron.
This disease behaves erratically and is wildly unpredictable. Still, the recent downturn in cases is noteworthy. So let’s discuss that next.
Current Pandemic Numbers
At the start of 2022, the Omicron outbreak overwhelmed the healthcare industry and eventually led to maximum hospital occupancy.
Unfortunately, Florida’s leadership hasn’t been forthcoming about its COVID-19 data.
The information we have suggests that the state claimed 300,000 new infections during the final week of 2021.
For the following week, the number increased to 400,000. I know we sometimes get bogged down with statistics, but that’s 100,000 more sick people.
You can imagine the strain that puts on the healthcare industry. When 400,000 people are suddenly sick, there aren’t enough doctors and nurses to treat them all.
Ergo, wearing masks helps slow the spread of infection enough to keep the health system from cascading into a downward spiral.
Now, the wave has peaked, and health facilities are recovering. Thursday’s state COVID report suggests that Florida tracked roughly 10,000 new cases.
Even if you’re suspicious of these numbers being low, it’s still a dramatic drop from the start of 2022.
For the first two weeks of the year, Florida averaged 50,000 new cases daily! That’s almost incomprehensible.
California faced a similar situation. Los Angeles County alone reported 200,000 new cases in a week at the start of 2022.
The state registered 221,000 new cases in a single day on January 17th.
Now, less than a month later, case rates have declined to the point that California has eliminated its mask mandate.
The state has averaged 31,500 new cases for the past week, but the number was under 15,000 on Wednesday. So, the worst appears over.
For this reason, California loosened its restrictions, albeit with a note that unvaccinated people are 5.9 times more likely to get COVID. Also, they have more severe symptoms.
The Fallout from These Changes
Here’s the fascinating part of this subject, at least from an optimist’s perspective.
Several states have announced that they’re either dropping their mask requirements or will let previous declarations expire.
The states that are doing so generally have erred on the side of caution. We’re talking about New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
Those are blue states. Their Governors and healthcare officials wouldn’t be doing this unless the science suggested it was safe.
In other words, even as we all nervously read the news and worry about infecting loved ones, the situation is improving.
When places like New Jersey stop requiring masks in schools, we can safely expect these changes to filter into other parts of life.
Yes, that includes theme parks. To wit, about 16 hours after I started this article, Universal Orlando Resort dropped its indoor face-covering policy.
Now, Universal has done that before. As such, Disney shouldn’t expect the same this weekend.
Currently, the CDC has remained reticent to move away from face masks. However, the scientists here are getting more data about hospitalizations and deaths.
Understandably, this information makes them wary about such a dramatic change in societal behavior.
In a perfect world, the CDC would rather various states drop their indoor face-covering mandates gradually. That way, they can track the data to ensure safety.
So, these recent changes work in the CDC’s favor. We’re not having every state drop its restrictions simultaneously. Instead, it’s occurring in several waves.
What’s Next at Disney Parks
Disney has done the right thing and protected its guests as much as possible. In truth, they’ve gone above and beyond.
You may hear stories to the contrary, but they’re anecdotal. On the whole, Disney has led by example at its theme parks.
For this reason, I suspect Disney parks will be among the last to maintain face-covering requirements.
Thankfully, I can see that day approaching soon, though. All the recent decisions underscore the fact that the worst is over, at least for now.
Everything could change with a virulent new strain. For the time being, that seems like worrying over something entirely beyond your control, though.
People keep asking when Disney will drop its face mask mandate.
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, I can honestly say the answer is, “Soon.”
FEATURE IMAGE: Disney/(David Roark, photographer)
My Daughter and I were at Disney last May. No mask needed anywhere! We did just fine!