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Even with the mandate in effect, a lot of people were only wearing the mask to go through the Canadian-equivalent TSA lines, and to board the plane, and if the flight attendants were making rounds. At least 25% of people were not wearing masks sitting around at gates, and no one was making an attempt to require a mask. Once you de-boarded the plane, almost everyone took their masks off immediately (which makes sense, because what are they going to do, kick you out of the airport you're leaving?). I didn't wear a mask for most of the time in the airport, and I didn't wear a mask most of the time on the plane, either. It was pretty clear to me that most people were fatigued with masks, which has long been the case in the US. Pretty much everyone in Canada is ready to move on. If Canada renews mask mandates and vaccination+app border crossings, I think people are going to disregard them completely more and more openly. I already know of a few Canadians who crossed into the US, did not fill out the app coming back, and were let back in, so once word spreads that a Canadian citizen doesn't really need to fill that out, the app becomes obsolete. |
By all accounts, consistent daily rush-hour traffic is back this September, for the first time since the pandemic (March 2020) in my metro area.
Which is still surprising to some degree as we still have many (most?) Canadian federal public servants living in the area working from home more days than not. I shudder to think what it will look like if and when most of them go back. Transit ridership is apparently only still around half of pre-pandemic levels. Which contrasts with Montreal and Toronto which I believe have recovered to 70-80% of pre-pandemic levels. |
Peace Bridge traffic between Buffalo and Canada is currently still down 47% from 2019 pre-COVID numbers, although much higher than 2020 and 2021, when it was down by 80% and 71%, respectively. Truck traffic actually increased by 3% since 2019, so passenger cars are responsible for the drop. The Canadian border crossing rules, requiring use of the ArriveCan app for COVID tracking, proof of vaccination, and random (though infrequent) testing when arriving on the Canadian side, has discouraged many casual travelers from crossing.
Anecdotally, I have just recently seen long lines of cars and trucks on the bridge for the first time since 2019. There are also more Canadians shopping at area stores, although not anywhere near the numbers pre-COVID. The exchange rate may also be having an impact on Canadian shoppers. |
Houston traffic is near pre-pandemic levels but from what I hear about the Bay Area, traffic no where near as bad as before times. Most people are WFH. My office is dead.
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School is back in session so traffic has picked up everywhere.
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I wonder if some of that construction that they did helps with the lines as well, though. |
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/aust...rest-of-state/
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My doctor ended all masking requirements in his office, months ago. I was last there in April and he asked me about my mask (Something like: Are you still afraid of Covid?) and said I didn't have to wear it. I was thinking all doctors offices would require it and was somewhat surprised when he said his office didn't require masks. My pharmacy has also removed the clear plastic walls they've had in place since 2020. No more talking around the clear plastic walls and trying to hear each other. I was at the post office last week and noticed the mask sticker on the door was removed, so no more masking at the post office. It's worth noting this is suburban Atlanta. My wife's specialist doctor and our son's doctor still require masks in their offices, as of July. We are talking about switching our son to my doctor, so only my wife Lauren's specialist doctor would require masks. Outside of that twice-a-year visit to her specialist, we wouldn't wear any masks and it won't seem any different than 2019.
I saw a news report that said COVID-19 death totals are now down to the same level as March 2020. |
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My condo's gym can finally be accessed 24 hrs a day starting October 1. The lifeguard supervises the gym & pool during the daytime, and the gym is locked after-hours (9pm to 6:30 am). People would get a key from the front desk every time they want to use the gym after-hours.
Previous to this, the gym was only open when the lifeguard was on duty due to COVID surge and monkeypox concerns. With this new 24 hour policy, we are basically reverting back to the pre-COVID schedule (though with slightly less daytime hours). |
Canada is apparently finally dropping vaccination requirements for travel as of October 1st, though will apparently maintain masking mandates on flights, for now.
I wonder when the US will drop vaccine mandates - though the US system of enforcement is a lot less onerous than the Canadian system. US is basically just verbal confirmation at the border with no proof required, while Canada has / will have had an extensive system of needing to download an app, upload proof, random COVID testing, extensive quarantine and fines for failure to comply, etc. |
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Number of daily deaths in the country had dropped to 50 in Oct and now it's on 110. Cases surged from 3,700 to 21,000 daily. |
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