The residents of Dénia have seen each other's faces for the first time for almost 2 years. Or at least it has been that way in the shadow of closed spaces, such as supermarkets or stores, where since Wednesday it is no longer mandatory to wear a mask. And it's gotten weird, if we're honest. Enough so that many have resisted taking it off, despite the fact that they wanted to and could.
The setting is new, but the scene is pretty much the same. In Dianense shops, the mask continues to reign despite the fact that it is no longer mandatory. And many, it is clear, do it as a precaution, because they consider that it is still early. But there are also few who do it out of habit, not to be out of tune and out of modesty.
After two years with them, one feels vulnerable and unprotected when walking through the doors of an establishment without a mask, often overcoming that brief inevitable episode of anxiety when you find another person who is not wearing one either. But it is not so easy to find it, since most people still choose to put it on before crossing the threshold, causing the next one to enter to think about it and even resort to it to "not be the only one".
However, we all knew that it was the last great restriction that we had to eliminate in order to assume that we had beaten a pandemic of more than two years. It is, in short, the final step of this long de-escalation, with so many ups and downs, and surely the most important for the expected flu. It will continue to be difficult for a while to cross a door without a mask, but hopefully in a few more rare months we will be reminded that it was a vital "complement" in our daily lives.
Well, it is good that the mask is finished, that the vaccination centers close, the money is for the medical industry, 11,5 billion doses were given worldwide. Also, things like the worldwide digital ID became possible while people were worrying about dying from a killer virus. The digital DNI is now required for international travel, so it is in place and will be used. Also, it was possible to shamelessly call an App a “tracing-app”, being honest about it, because nobody cared at the time. It seems easy: fear or hunger trigger us, "truth" is a luxury, we can live without it.