Is it time to hunker down, or resume our normal lives?

From Ronald Hoffman, MD.

Covid recently hit a milestone for me personally. My hair cutter has had a long-standing policy of mandatory masking in her salon. It’s a reasonable accommodation to her preferences, despite the fact that I’ve long stopped wearing a mask in my office, have taken plane trips several times without masking, and I no longer recommend it except for my most frail and vulnerable patients.

Things came to a head a few months back when I witnessed an ugly scene transpiring in the salon. A guy came in for his haircut, was unmasked, and was politely asked to put one on. He refused, became belligerent, and then engaged in some nasty cross-talk with another (masked) customer. It was suggested that maybe this wasn’t the most opportune time for him to get a trim, and he left.