To mask or not to mask? Under revised guidelines, it's a personal question

More than two years into the covid-19 pandemic, Western Pennsylvanians still are seemingly divided over whether they will choose to continue wearing a face covering.

Uncertainty over how they will move forward comes as case counts continue to ease and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined new measures last week for when masks should be required. The new system looks at what’s happening at hospitals instead of simply at positive test results.

In communities where the virus is posing a low to medium threat to hospitals, people can go mask-free. Those in high-risk counties should continue masking.

Locally, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties are among those considered low risk.

With the choice up to members of the community, many people seem to have mixed feelings about masking, with some ready to ditch the piece of fabric while others are left wondering whether the decision was made too quickly.

“I think that it’s good that it’s an option. However, people don’t enforce it, so it doesn’t matter what they recommend or what they do because it’s not enforced either way, really,” said Holly Snyder, 55, after shopping at Walmart in North Huntingdon. “People should be smart, stay distanced, but I don’t think that it should be mandatory.”

Snyder of North Huntingdon said she plans to continue masking only in close, confined spaces.

Amy Collins Law, however, plans to keep masking for the near future.

The 40-year-old Irwin resident wore a black N95 mask as she loaded her Walmart purchases into her car Saturday morning.

“I think it’s good in terms of a step in the right direction,” Law said. “I’m wondering if it’s a little premature given that just a month and a half ago we had record hospitalizations and record numbers for this year. I’m kind of a mixed bag a little bit in terms of what I think.”

On a busy Saturday afternoon at the Giant Eagle in New Kensington, Lisa Simon of Arnold was wearing a black mask as she left the store with a plastic grocery bag in each hand.

“I don’t want to sound judgmental. If people are comfortable not wearing a mask, so be it. All I know is I still want to wear it,” she said. “Covid is still out there. The virus is still out there. I’ve heard of people getting the virus even after they’ve had the shots, so I would like to continue wearing a mask while the virus is still circulating.”

Simon said part of the reason she is remaining cautious is she is around her 84-year-old mother a lot.

“My mother is older, and I just want to be more cautious going out in public,” she said. “I’m just trying to be cautious about not picking anything up because you never know.”

Ashton Montgomery, 19, of Lower Burrell is a Giant Eagle employee. He is required to wear a mask as part of his job carrying groceries and loading them into cars for shoppers. But he said he’s looking forward to not having to wear a mask when he’s off the job.

“I feel like I’m always out of breath, coming in and out of the store and pulling big heavy orders up the hill here,” he said. “I like not wearing a mask, and I’ll be able to read people’s facial expressions again and see people smile again. It’ll be nice. I like being able to breathe in the air. You can smell the fresh air when you have (the mask) off.”

Thomas Drattan, 69, of Plum was not wearing a mask as he came out of the store. But he said he felt guilty and should be wearing one.

“I got all my shots, so I feel kinda safe. But I should wear it,“ he said. “I feel like every time you go into a store, they’re short of (employees). Restaurants aren’t open as much because of covid. I feel safer when I wear my mask. I’m actually going to start wearing it more often. I’m going to play it safe.”

In January, the state saw a spike in covid cases, with 30,000 cases recorded in one day last month. Now, average daily case counts in Pennsylvania have fallen to about 2,500.

For Law, who works at UPMC, wearing a mask means she is doing her part in protecting vulnerable family members — and taking steps to prevent herself from needing hospital resources if she were to contract the virus.

“I definitely believe in the science of masking,” she said. “In my career field and things like that, it’s proven itself time and time again that it’s effective. And so people who call it a hoax and things like that, I really take issue with that. Because they don’t see the hospitalizations and those sorts of things that people who have been masking are seeing.”

Larry Turner, 62, of North Huntingdon said he also will continue wearing a mask because his wife is immunocompromised. He also believes school children should be masked.

According to the new guidance, it is not recommended that students wear face-coverings as long as transmission rates are low or moderate.

“It’s better for everybody,” Turner said of masking in schools. “It’s not that hard. I know people don’t want someone else, especially the government, telling them what to do. I think it should be done till everybody’s out of school.”

Across the region, several places still are requiring masks, at least for the near future.

At Pittsburgh Cultural Trust buildings, masks are required by everyone over the age of 2. Masking, along with other covid-related policies, are in place until at least March 31. The policies will be evaluated based on community health data and public health and government guidance.

On Pittsburgh’s North Shore, the Carnegie Science Center still is requiring masking.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County tweeted Saturday masks remain required on its vehicles.

Masks continue to be required on all of our vehicles. Should that change we’ll be sure to let you know!

— Port Authority PGH (@PGHtransit) February 27, 2022

Signs posted on the entrance to The Westmoreland Museum of American Art asked guests to wear face-coverings regardless of vaccination status. A bowl of blue masks, placed beside hand sanitizer, greeted guests as they walked into the facility. It was not clear if either location would lift mask mandates in the coming weeks.

On the flip side, several people stopped wearing face-coverings months ago — if they wore them at all.

When asked what he thought of the updated guidance, William Studner, 77, of West Newton answered simply, “No masks,” before walking into the Shop ’n Save on East Pittsburgh Street in Greensburg. He noted he has not worn a mask for months.

Similarly, Marie Stone, 61, of Greensburg said, “I guess it’s a good thing. I wasn’t a real mask-wearer to begin with, so I’m happy we don’t have to wear them.”

Other people in the community feel changed guidance is good as people continue to be vaccinated and case counts decline.

David Cockowski, 59, of Hempfield said he rarely wears a face-covering because he “finds it’s a barrier.”

Of the guidance, he said, “Since we’re all vaccinated, it’s probably at a point where we can allow it.”

Joshua Werner, 29, of North Huntingdon said he bases his decision on whether he will wear a mask by the situation. Werner is fully vaccinated and received the booster shot.

“I’m less worried about it currently,” he said. “I think it’s fine. I think that we probably had a big boom of covid cases when stuff relaxed without the CDC anyways and then schools shut down for three weeks because everybody had covid. So I feel like we’re kind of over that hump. I feel it’s probably fine.”