In Europe most countries are now dropping the strict covid-19 measures that were put in place

Germany is late to the party and has only this week started to pull back the most severe restrictions. Other countries like Spain and the UK have made much earlier moves. But with Germany being pretty conservative that is to be expected.

So this week most restrictions were also lifted in Germany: no masks and no covid-19 vaccination certificate in shops and restaurants and many other public spaces. But they are still required in public transport and at doctors. To me this is a big relief and a step toward normalizing this virus which is now possible due to the Omicron variant which some studies have suggested has a similar or even lower case fatality rate than the common flu. It is now an endemic virus and society has to live with it.

But 2 years of rules curbing social life have left their mark. I have been following how the pandemic has affected social life with my social lens series and it has been interesting to see how people behave in such an extraordinary situation. This week therefore marks an important event to me as it will now be possible to observe what people do when the restrictions (almost) end.

So what has happened? I am still gathering data, but so far I have made some unexpected observations. It seems that people are not adapting their behavior to this new rule set (I am focusing here on social distancing and mask wearing). I have gone to two shops and contrary to my expectations 99% of the people were still wearing masks. I saw only 1.5 people without them (one was wearing one, but it wasn't covering the mouth or nose). I suppose there could be several reasons for this:

• People don't know that the restrictions were lifted (it was more or less a non news event compared to their implementations)
• People want to protect themselves and wear the masks voluntarily
• People don't take them off because of social pressure (it takes some courage to take it off when everyone around you is wearing them)
• People have gotten used to them and enjoy the increased anonymity they give

These are at least the main reasons I have so far come up with. Social distancing is also largely still being followed. I have not seen any close contacts (like hand shaking or hugging), but this might also be because the places were not where people would necessarily do these things.

I will continue to look at these two things (social interaction and mask usage) in particular over the next coming months. Will there be changes?

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