You might say the pandemic is now officially over.
That's because San Diego County and California on Tuesday officially declaring an end to the COVID-19 state of emergencies that began about three years ago.
The formal end of the emergency COVID declarations may make it official but most masks already came off and the majority of restrictions were already lifted over the last few months.
But while the states of emergency are now over, it doesn’t mean the coronavirus that started all of this in 2020 is gone. It is still alive and well and still around and is still infectious but not as contagious and not as dangerous given the vaccines, the treatments and the natural immunization that has widened.
What the pandemic did do is make more people more aware and more careful about doing things to prevent them from getting sick, whether it’s from COVID or the flu or a cold or several other viruses.
For most, washing hands and staying home from work if sick and keeping away from people who are ill, what became known as social distancing, is now common, something that wasn’t that common before the pandemic.
And while studies vary now about the effectiveness of masks, doctors offices and health care facilities do still require them and may continue to require masks for possibly a long time yet, and may even make it the norm.
So while the emergency is officially over, the lessons learned will live on.
(Photo Getty Images)
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