To really understand the consequences of BC Public Health’s questionable abandonment of mask and distancing mandates, you should take a look at this. Off the top: “Despite strong levels of vaccination among older people, Covid killed them at vastly higher rates during this winter’s Omicron wave than it did last year, preying on long delays since their last shots and the variant’s ability to skirt immune defenses. … Almost as many Americans 65 and older died in four months of the Omicron surge as did in six months of the Delta wave, even though the Delta variant, for any one person, tended to cause more severe illness.” In short, wishfully thinking as we go into summer that we can go without masks when in close proximity to others without somone paying a high price is illusion. Full disclosure: I am one of those categorized as being “senior” and living with compromised immunity, so I may be more concerned with the potential costs of Public Health’s deserting us than you are. That’s why I’m the guy you meet in public who is still wearing a mask and who steps backward as you step nearer. Of course, each of us will make our own decisions. If you want your choices to be informed, this article may help.

During the Omicron Wave, Death Rates Soared for Older People. NY Times, May 31, 2022. “Last year, people 65 and older died from Covid at lower rates than in previous waves. But with Omicron and waning immunity, death rates rose again.”