Amaskless future for most
A recent trip to the Netherlands was a bit of a revelation for Rai Valley resident Ben Verhoef.
Verhoef and his wife Nettie arrived back in Nelson yesterday afternoon after more than 24 hours of flying.
‘‘They’ve pretty much ditched everything, you hardly see people walking around with masks,’’ Verhoef said.
‘‘Nobody did and we didn’t either. They’ve got rid of all the rules and what have you. It was an eye-opener.’’
Verhoef said most of his family members had had Covid-19 multiple times – but he’d been lucky so far.
While no longer mandatory, the Verhoefs wore a mask on their domestic flight down to Nelson, and said there were a few others who did the same. ‘‘It’s become a habit I suppose.’’
Moving forward, Verhoef said he probably wouldn’t continue to use masks in the future.
At the supermarket in Nelson later in the day he said he noticed those wearing masks were few and far between.
The ditching of masks in most public settings will renew a sense of trust and confidence, business owners say.
Uniquely Nelson manager Simon Duffy said from a business point of view, ‘‘99.9% think it should have been done some time ago’’.
‘‘They’re relieved,’’ he said. ‘‘We just need to get on and this is progress.’’
Duffy said a lot of people hadn’t been wearing masks anyway, with fewer and fewer complying in the past month.
‘‘Besides obviously medical centres, retirement villages and hospitals, we don’t have to have that piece of cloth around our faces anymore.
‘‘It symbolises something, of what we have all been through, not just here in Nelson but globally, and for them [businesses] it’s getting back to some form of normality. It’s a huge relief.’’
However, taxi driver Peter Thomson said he would continue to wear masks, because he worked in a confined space.
‘‘It’s obviously not compulsory, but the mere fact that it’s recommended kind of suits me,’’ Thomson said.
‘‘Besides, there’s the other issue where I could possibly be protecting the person, if I’ve picked up something but don’t have symptoms ... If I’m looking after myself, then I’m helping me, but in a roundabout way I’m helping others as well.’’