Things are really weird where I am, like parallel worlds. I go to the grocery store in the rich town and everyone is masked. Restaurants, on the other hand, are extremely crowded and no one is masked. We were out yesterday and it got a little late for lunch so I suggested trying a new place. We walk in, and they have those communal tables - the really long ones where strangers sit together. Those were completely empty. Who wants to sit there now? I heard someone coughing. Nope, no thanks. Picking up take out at another restaurant, they were so busy with a bunch of people crammed into a small waiting area. And they've *added* tables to the aisles where two years ago there were none. Eating just seems so much higher risk to me than breathing on someone walking by in a warehouse type building.


I still hope omicron isn't so bad. The worst will be if we get a mutation that badly affects children. We have wasted all of our lockdown and caring energy and after all the sacrifices children had to make, I don't think people would be prepared to make them same for them at this point.

@BreakForTheLight were the antivax/lockdown protests a big thing there? I've seen news of them floating around but you can never tell. We had a couple of protests locally but the photos made them seem bigger than they were. Also the no dancing rule reminded me of my youth - due to zoning laws, there were some music venues that would not allow dancing, one in particular I went to frequently. You could stand and sway a bit but you would get yelled at for doing much more!

How much transmission ever even happened in stores? I hear about it happening in workplaces and at personal events, like weddings. Can't we change our policies now that we know more?