Canberra is moving into a new era of personal responsibility in managing the coronavirus pandemic, with rules mandating masks in indoor set to be scrapped from Friday evening.
Speaking to The Canberra Times on Wednesday, some said they were eager to have more interpersonal connection with others as masks slipped away, while others expressed that they were unbothered by continuing to wear them.
Fateh Singh
Mr Singh said while he found masks easy enough to incorporate into his daily life, he had started to pay less attention to changing public health advice after years of pandemic fatigue.
"I don't really mind wearing masks I'll wear one as much as I can indoors, [but] it doesn't bother me to be honest," he said of the most recent changes.
"I've stopped caring about the pandemic, if I'm being brutally honest."
He thought Canberrans should keep wearing masks because "it's easy to do and it seems to help prevent the spread", but added: "I'm not going to go protesting because they aren't necessary anymore."
Angus Perry
Speaking from behind the counter at Miranda Hi-Fi Canberra, Angus Perry said the move to scrap masks was an "excellent" one.
"Canberra overwhelmingly is vaccinated so the first barrier is there, the second barrier -- it's not window dressing, it is effective, but becoming less necessary with time."
"I think we'll see a lot more smiles," he said when asked about how the changes would affect his interactions with customers.
One silver lining to the pandemic, he said: "People are more respective of distance. Actual physical distancing has become fashionable which is great, no more close talkers."
Lola Power
Ms Power said that limitations to the effectiveness of most disposable masks against the Omicron variant had given her a sense that "whatever happens, happens".
Even so, she will continue the habit, saying it will be strange to see without them.
"Masks feel a bit normal now, after the long period we've had having to wear them."
"I was so forgetful for months but now it's definitely a part of my routine, wearing a mask. It might actually be weird seeing people walking around without a mask."
Sharn Soldo & Sofia Fahiz
Sharn Soldo and Sofia Fahiz are excited about the return to unobstructed face-to-face interaction, but supported caution in high-risk areas.
"I'm looking forward to being able to see people's faces again and facial expressions and smiles. So I think that it will be a positive change in the working environment," Ms Fahiz said.
Canberra was on track to get back to normal "slowly but surely", Ms Soldo said. "I think there is still a fair way to go but I think this is definitely a big step to that normality again."
Grace Winstanley
The territory's changes to restrictions hadn't come as a surprise to Grace Winstanley, a staff member at Landspeed Records, who expected the ACT would follow Victoria and NSW.
She felt it wouldn't change much in-store, where customers had always been eager to mask up.
"A lot of our customers, even before masks were mandated, they still wore them voluntarily."
