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FEATURE
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or over 18 months, it has been mandatory to wear face masks in schools, shops, transport and other public areas. Since Monday, 28 February 2022, people have no legal obligation to wear them any longer. The only place it is still necessary to wear a mask is in health care facilities. I recently overheard a shopper say to a sales assistant that the best thing about the lifting of restrictions was to see people’s smiles again. Covering our faces meant that the art of casual conversation, something the Irish are renowned for, had started to fade as people could not hear one another with masks on or take cues from each other’s facial expressions. It was easier to just say nothing while carrying out everyday transactions in shops, public transport, hospitals and schools. Bizarrely enough, children in junior and senior infants classes had never actually seen their teachers’ full faces until this week and many won’t see their faces for some time to come for those teachers who prefer to err on the side of caution.
Shop floor feedback On the day after restrictions were lifted, an unmasked staff member in Dealz in Rathfarnham, Dublin 16 told me that they initially kept their mask on during the first day but a few hours into the day decided to take it off. She feels that the perspex screens offer them a sufficient level of protection, and still puts her mask back on if she needs to assist a customer on the floor. Our conversation was easy and natural due to both of us being without masks. However, not all retail staff feel so confident about taking off their masks so soon. Retailer Niall Smith of Nearby in Newtownforbes, Co. Longford, says that on the first day of the great unmasking, it was 50/50 of his staff wearing masks. “There are a few genuine reasons for wearing them because some have vulnerable family members,” he says. “I imagine it’s the same with customers who continue to wear them.” Terry O’Brien, district manager for Londis, had been to a number of shops in Dublin that morning and said that there were more staff wearing them than not but that only a few customers he had witnessed were still wearing them. “I imagine staff and customers might change their habits as the weeks and months go on. It depends on the individual and on their health,” he says. “It’s all case specific. It’s been a long two years and some are delighted to be rid of them. Many put a mask on out of force of habit. Others have them on out of courtesy to staff. I’m wearing mine as I see it like wiping your feet going into someone’s house – a bit of manners. I certainly will continue to use it.” Karl Fitzgerald, manager of Applegreen Rathcoole, said that he had briefed all staff and most were delighted to be rid of the masks. However, on the second day after restrictions were lifted, around half of his staff still had them on. “It’s a mixed bag with customers,” he said. “No one is talking about it. There is still an amount of uncertainty around. I’m standing looking at the camera (of the shop floor) now and I’d say 50% still have the masks on and it’s the same with staff. The majority of people are happy to see the back of them and most importantly to have a choice.”
ShelfLife March 2022 | www.shelflife.ie
“ Covering our faces meant that the art of casual conversation, something the Irish are renowned for, had started to fade as people could not hear one another with masks on or take cues from each other’s facial expressions.” One change he had noticed even before the restrictions were lifted was the reduction in the amount of customers using hand sanitiser. “People are definitely not using the hand sanitiser – they are bypassing it now,” he told ShelfLife. “They also aren’t as finicky with touch points like at the pumps or holding the door open. Also we’ve seen that cash is back in circulation. For the past 18 months it has been primarily card transactions but in the last few weeks, some people are back to using cash.” Alan O’Donnell, owner/manager of Daybreak Cahir, is delighted to see the back of restrictions and said that they have taken down all screens and taken up the social distancing floor signs. “It’s a great relief for the staff,” he said. “Every single one of them have the masks off already, even people who were conservative. As for customers, only about 20% of them are wearing them, mostly the elderly. I think everyone is delighted to see each other’s faces again. We took down our screens at the tills. Ours were so thick that we couldn’t hear people. We’ve also taken down the signs for social distancing. It’s a relief.” One measure they have retained is a hand sink outside the door. “We put a hand sink outside our shop at the start of Covid and about 50% of people use it,” he said. “Most prefer to wash their hands instead of using hand sanitiser,” he has found.
Not gone away There has been a collective sigh of relief with the measures being taken away but it’s prudent to remember that Covid-19 hasn’t
gone away and many medical experts are still advising the public to wear masks in busy settings indoors to protect themselves and also to protect vulnerable people from catching the virus. Professor Sam McConkey, infectious disease consultant at Beaumont Hospital and head of the Department of International Health and Tropical Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, was asked for his advice on whether masks should still be worn in specific settings and situations. While speaking to The Irish Times he said: “Unvaccinated people are also at much higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19 so people wearing masks in indoor spaces which are crowded and/or poorly ventilated protects unvaccinated people from catching the virus too. Consider that one in six intensive care beds are still occupied by people with Covid which means it is still a significant health issue.” As of 4 March, there were 4,033 cases of the virus recorded on the official Covid app. There were 43 ICU confirmed cases and two new ICU admissions. Figures like these could have sent us into full-blown lockdown a year ago but while the latest Omicron variant has spread like wildfire, it is not landing people in hospital like the previous Delta variant and it is now time that we live with this virus and accept it won’t be going away completely but it also won’t cause serious illness in the majority of people. Retail workers have been on the frontline of this crisis and it is wonderful to see some normality resume and hopefully less fear in our everyday lives. n
Pictured on the first day of greatly reduced Covid restrictions in Ireland, crowds gather to watch busker Allie Sherlock after 8pm on Grafton Street in Dublin city centre (Photo: Sam Boal/ RollingNews.ie)
