Where do we go from here?

There was hardly a mask in sight at Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley's State of the City speech Friday. What a contrast to the day before, when President Joe Biden visited Lorain to announce $1 billion in infrastructure funding to clean up the Great Lakes. Inside The Shipyards, everyone was wearing a mask. The divergent approaches to pandemic precautions were indicative of the strange place where we find ourselves as the omicron wave begins to recede. The danger hasn't fully passed, yet there's a sense that something has changed. Not so long ago, it would have seemed like folly to forego a mask at a crowded event, but these days going maskless in public is hardly confined to Lorain. All over the nation, the number of people wearing masks seems to be declining even as the death toll from the coronavirus continues to climb, albeit more slowly than just a few weeks ago. As of Wednesday, the virus had claimed the lives of more than 937,000 Americans. Although federal guidelines still call for indoor masking in places with substantial or high transmission, places that have long mandated masks, such as deep blue states and Lorain Schools, are easing those requirements. Lorain County was rated Wednesday as having a moderate transmission level, while surrounding counties were rated as having substantial transmission. One of the points of masks has always been to slow the spread of the virus so that the health-care system wasn't overwhelmed with patients. It nearly came to that over the course of two long years, and health care workers deserve thanks for braving the dangers of the virus day in and day out. The Ohio Hospital Association reported that the number of patients statewide with COVID was declining. When omicron hospitalizations peaked on Jan. 10, there were 6,749 such patients. On Wednesday, there were 1,345. The Ohio Department of Health reported 1,323 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, a far cry from the dizzying numbers of omicron's peak. Not only are the numbers headed in the right direction, we're better able to manage the pandemic. There's a better understanding of the virus and therapeutics that can help in treatment. Those complement the safe and effective vaccines that have prevented illness and death for so many. As of Wednesday, 65.76 percent of Lorain County's population had been inoculated. While not perfect, it was better than the statewide rate of 61.74 percent. We encourage those who haven't gotten vaccinated to do so. Ignore the misinformation, conspiracy theories and politics swirling around the vaccines and consider this: Since the beginning of 2021, 20,711 unvaccinated people in Ohio have died from the virus compared to 1,040 vaccinated individuals. We also are hopeful that a vaccine for those younger than 5 will be approved soon, which would bring many parents greater peace of mind as the nation moves toward a new normal. Likewise, there will still be situations that call for masks, testing and other precautions. For instance, masks should remain the order of the day on planes and public transportation for the foreseeable future. Some businesses, schools and government facilities will continue to require masks. Regardless of how people feel about masks, they should follow those rules, whose intent is not to stifle freedom but to protect folks from a dangerous disease. Nor should anyone begrudge those who continue to mask up. All of us are going to have to look at the numbers, consider our vaccination status and other factors when deciding what's best for us. Perhaps a mother worries about her young child who can't yet be vaccinated. Maybe an elderly gentleman is immunocompromised and knows contracting COVID could be a death sentence. Or the person in the checkout line just doesn't feel comfortable being in public without a mask. Even those who embrace the notion that the threat is all but gone would be wise to hang on to masks and hand sanitizer in the event of another surge. A more contagious version of omicron has raised concerns that we might be moving too fast to reopen. If those fears prove justified, we should be prepared to reinstitute public health measures, however hard that might be. We've been here before, after all. Last summer case counts were low, vaccinations were being administered, and Biden was predicting the virus would soon be under control. Then came the delta variant followed by omicron. We were always going to have to confront the question of when to rip the mask off. For good or ill, it seems much of the public has decided the time to do so has arrived.