Masked times, Covid 19 grocery shopping

surgical mask (left) and home-made cloth mask (right), ready for next grocery trip

Early March 2020 is when the people in the state of Michigan were instructed to “stay home, stay safe” and venture out only for essential workers (food, medical, car care, dog walking). But around the middle of April all grocery visits were no longer advised but now were required to be made with some form of mask (scarf, bandana, surgical, home-made cloth). This photo dates from the time of obligatory masks.

People remember the pre-Covid-19 social life, carefree about social distancing 6 feet apart (more for athletes breathing heavily). And at the moment people seem to be nonplussed by the normality of seeing everybody in some form of mouth/nose cover. Probably a time will come when only the high-risk people will carry a mask. Perhaps a vaccine will protect them and then most of the pre-virus habits will return. Memory is a fickle thing and all too soon lessons learned and habits formed will be lost to the mists of time. A look back at scenes from the midst of the pandemic will be regarded as alien or outlandish. And yet right now that is the standard practice, the “new normal” for May 2020.