Residents of Elmhurst, Queens, one of the areas of the city hardest hit by Covid-19 in the early months of the pandemic, were especially wary. Neha Shah, 25, worries about her diabetic father and says she tried to avoid crowded restaurants and cafes.
“I just feel like this is being done for public safety,” Ms Shah said. “I don’t agree with them being abandoned.”
For Emily Suardi, barista at Furman’s Coffee in Brooklyn, the masks couldn’t come off fast enough. They made working in her small coffee shop hot and uncomfortable and she felt safe going about her daily life given that she and her colleagues, friends and family were vaccinated.
Even if there is a spike in positive Covid-19 cases or another option, she doesn’t want to go back to masking inside unless the city regains its mandate, she said.
“I’m really tired of this,” said Ms. Suardi. “If it’s not required, I won’t use it.”
That didn’t happen to one of New York City’s most famous recovering Covid-19 patients, Broadway icon Patti LuPone.
According to Ms. LuPone, for two years she took every precaution. But as Omicron waned, she said she started going out and became a little less comfortable with wearing masks. Then, late last month, she tested positive before a production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company and had to leave the theater.
Ms. LuPone, a woman who had lunch alone in her apartment, had to be isolated for 10 days while coping with flu-like symptoms and fatigue.