The mask mandate in Oregon is going away, according to recent announcements, although the date has shifted a few times, so I couldn’t help but be rather confused. 

I would say I was originally surprised, although looking back I am not sure why I am anymore. This is not a new pattern; things get worse, everyone – well, more like some, I suppose – buckles down and puts in the effort to protect their friends and families, cases get better, and we are ready to return to “normalcy.” But are we really ever ready to return to normalcy? 

COVID is not a new situation to us. We have been dealing with it for years at this point, so has it not occurred to any of us that we are doing something to prolong it? All this talk of being “tired” of wearing masks, of social distancing, of abstaining from parties and gatherings: are you not tired of watching many lose their lives? Are you not tired of the stress this has put on our educational, financial and healthcare institutions? 

It is inherently human to want things to go back to the way they were and to return to a less stressful time. I understand that desire: normalcy is incredibly tempting. But for now, it is a facade. Normalcy does not exist in our world for the time being, and we do not know when it will return. While that is understandably an incredibly difficult pill to swallow, it is necessary that we all do. We keep pushing towards being through this nightmare; each day, I believe we grow a little closer, and of course we are all tired. Of course we all want this to end, but that does not mean it will. The time to stop wearing our masks is not when things look like they are getting better, but the time will be when things are better. Anything less will only prolong the pandemic.

You may disagree. You may say, “Ava, cases are getting better. We’ve gone from thousands to hundreds. Perhaps it is time we all start moving on.” I would remind you of March of 2020, when this was supposed to be two weeks and then we could move on. I would remind you of last summer when the vaccines were the end-all-be-all, and yet we are still here. I would remind you of the Delta variant. I would remind you of the nearly 10,000 cases per day we had just a month ago. 

This disease is unpredictable. We know it can mutate. We know it can be more contagious. We know it can be deadlier. Is now the time to take that risk, when we are on the cusp of eradicating it?

So before you go to school or the grocery store or the movies or the mall next month, fully ready to remove your mask, I ask you: do you want to be part of the solution or do you want to be too tired to end this nightmare?