We’re all no doubt looking forward to going shopping without having to wear a mask from tomorrow.
It’s true that it’s not much of an effort pulling on a mask when considered against the benefit of slowing or stopping the spread of the virus.
What has stood out these past few weeks of mandatory mask wearing are the people who weren’t wearing one.
They strut past you with a defiant look on their faces, while you’re scratching your head trying to guess why they decided to be that one person out of hundreds visiting your local shopping centre without a face covering of some type.
The thing though that these renegades haven’t thought of is what a novelty it is to be out in public looking like either Zorro – black masks – or a heart surgeon – white masks.
I mean there will come a time when the virus will be gone and all the restrictions, including the mask wearing, kicked into the rubbish bin of history.
We can then all go back to our boring little lives, arguing with each other on social media for entertainment on a Saturday night.
The thing is that while we were put through the ringer, there have been little upsides these past 11 months.
Remember the first bit of advice we got was to stop shaking hands, right.
How good was that when you bumped into someone you couldn’t stand but normally shook hands to maintain some sort of pretend cordiality.
Not no more, and I doubt if we will ever go back to handshaking – there’s the flu to ward off.
Same with the masks: you can cunningly screw up your face at someone and they wouldn’t have a clue.
“Under the cover of Covid’’ wasn’t just used by our governments – it’s also become an individual little haven of happiness.
There will be a lot to remember the pandemic for, but this list is just a Top 5 for now:
Number 1. All the new words and phrases, including sanitise, virus hotspot, Jobkeeper and so on.
Number 2. The state border closures. This issue will have the spotlight on it after the virus is history.
Number 3. Federation. Somebody ought to have another look at the Constitution to see what’s really going on in this space.
Number 4. Ocean cruises. Will they be as wildly popular in the future?
Number 5. One new thing that will become permanent is exploring our own backyard as tourists.
