B.C. mask mandate gone, but many still covering up

Posted March 14, 2022 3:59 pm.

B.C.’s mask mandate is now a thing of the past, but in many parts of Vancouver, you wouldn’t necessarily know it. Many people are choosing to still wear face coverings, even though it’s no longer a requirement in most indoor public spaces.

Part of the reason for this is because the COVID-19 virus isn’t gone, which is especially cause for concern for people who are immunocompromised and those who live with them, according to UBC associate psychology professor Azim Shariff.

But it goes beyond that, as Shariff believes people are still figuring out what to do.

“The way that people make sense of ambiguous situations — and this is an ambiguous situation — we don’t know that we’re done with COVID, and we also don’t know what the safety situation is, nor what the other social norms are. People pay attention to what other people do,” Shariff told CityNews.

“Immediately, you might think, ‘Well, I’ll just go out without a mask.’ Then you look around, and see that some other people are still wearing their masks, and then you say, ‘Well, maybe I’m supposed to still wear a mask.'”

He also points out the mask, for many people, has come to represent a sign of respect, and says he’s not surprised so many people in Vancouver have decided to keep wearing face coverings for now.

“If you’re somewhere where 70 per cent are wearing a mask, that’s what the norm is going to be, so you’re going to be pressured to wear a mask,” Shariff said. “If you’re around a place where 20 per cent are wearing the mask, the norm is not to wear a mask, and you’re going to feel out of place, or out of the norm, if you’re not wearing a mask.”

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Beyond simply following the crowd, many people are doing this to protect themselves and others, insists Omar Khan, professor of biomedical engineering and immunology at University of Toronto.

“That understanding that transmission can still happen, and viral evolution still happens, is kind of at the front of everyone’s mind,” said Khan. “Also, I think there is some general understanding that a new updated version of the vaccines are on their way, and they’re designed for things like Omicron, and potentially beyond Omicron. And with that, better protection might be coming as well.

“There’s no harm in continuing to wear a mask while we wait for those answers.”

University of Toronto bioethicist Kerry Bowman says we look to other people for cues — but believes there’s a good chance mask use could drop quickly, as we’ve already seen in some parts of B.C. outside of larger cities.

“I think when small numbers begin to stop wearing masks, other people will pick up on it,” said Bowman. “I think part of the concern as well is if someone takes off their mask, will that be seen as a social statement, an element of selfishness, that type of thing. So, I would argue we’re really watching for social cues on that.”

As of March 11, masks were no longer mandated in indoor public spaces with the exception of some places like health-care settings. TransLink dropped its mask mandate the same day, though face coverings are still required by those using and working on HandyDART.

On transit and in some grocery stores over the weekend in Vancouver, mask use appeared to be quite high. People outside of urban centres have reported a higher drop off in mask use than appears to have happened at this point in Vancouver, following the end of the mandate.

Masks will no longer be required in schools as of March 28, when staff and students return from spring break.

B.C.’s vaccine passport will end on April 8.

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