The United Kingdom is dropping all government mask mandates per Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Johnson told lawmakers that the ease of restrictions was due to government scientists believing the surge of infections was likely prompted by Omicron and the variant’s cases “have now peaked nationally,” according to the Associated Press.
Now the question is, how will other countries, and specifically the United States, respond if the mask mandate removal in the United Kingdom shows no negative effect? One could assume that masks will stay should the UK experience a dramatic increase in cases… but what if cases drop? It seems likely as Omicron flushes out of the population. Businesses in the United Kingdom will likely still require masks for some time, but without a government backing, they are likely to decrease over time.
Image Courtesy WDW News Today
A similar effect is seen in Florida. With no government-backed mask mandate, some companies keep mask requirements for interior environments, but most have dropped those signs and directives. While Disney World and Universal Studios enforce interior mask requirements with vigor, a quick trip to International Drive gas stations and restaurants will reveal that mask-wearing is in the minority. That’s far different than in states where masks are required and those who fail to adhere are even criminalized. And while guests at Disney World and Universal Studios are masking up in the abnormally cold winter, one has to wonder if the parks will continue to enforce such a decree as temperatures get hotter and red state guests are accustomed to maskless environments (that’s not a political endorsement or medical endorsement one way or the other).
There is some serious thinking that has to go into this. There are many signs around the Walt Disney World resort… likely in the thousands… that will have to be removed if this change happens. And what if there’s a new variant that causes masks to come back into vogue? If that occurs, Disney would then have to return thousands of signage pieces.
UK: masks in classrooms dropped TOMORROW and scrapped completely next week https://t.co/7HRaUVvwAK
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) January 19, 2022
It will be very interesting to see how the UK’s decision will affect viewpoints in the various regions of the United States. Unlike in the United Kingdom, the states in the United States operate like small countries with very different cultures, political stances, etc. More so than since the Civil War, the United States feels like multiple nations when traveling through. New York City is like a different world than Nashville. San Francisco is foreign to Jacksonville. For theme parks that welcome guests from all over the country, and all over the world, navigating the pandemic response will continue to be difficult.
Let us know in the comments below what you think should happen with mask requirements in the Orlando theme parks. Try your best not to be political, but be truthful.
